If you see a humble 1987 build Peugeot 405 on the roads of Iran, chances are, it’s probably not what you think. Instead, what you’d be looking at is a Peugeot Pars, a car that only hit the roads of this enigmatic middle eastern country in 2001.
While almost all leading automobile manufacturers are now talking about modular design vehicles, Iran's largest car manufacturer Iran Khodro (IKCO), thanks to decades long sanctions, has been using thirty-year-old French designs in nearly all its vehicles. However, the company thinks the time has finally come for a major upgrade.
Luckily, the renowned Italian design house, Pininfarina, has decided to lend a hand. A $76 million deal was signed between the Iranian company and the Italian design firm, who will be engineering a car from the grounds up. Pininfarina will be taking the concept from the first sketches to a mass production vehicle in under a 36-month time.
According to Pininfarina, the new modular base car might result in at least four different vehicles. One thing to note is that while IKCO is not well known in the west, the company and its partners actually produce vehicles in countries like Syria, Senegal, Venezuela, Belarus, Azerbaijan and China. In other words, the new Pininfarina deal has the potential to make the Iranian company a major player not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Latin America and perhaps even in China.
Iran Wants a 21st Century Car and Pininfarina Is Going To Help
GLOBAL NEWS
Image Source: motorauthority.com
20