Italy’s mainstream car industry isn’t experiencing the best of times lately, but its top class brands like Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini are actually faring quite well. The country’s famed design studios and coachbuilders are somewhere in the middle, and we even have new members in the club, like Camal, which this year celebrates its fifth anniversary of activities with a new project named Tributo.

You may remember Camal Studio from the retro-flavored Fiat 500 Marcia Corta design concept from 2011. The Tributo is a 3D design exercise for a one-off, coachbuilt coupe based on the underpinnings and mechanical hardware of the Maserati GranTurismo.

The V8-powered Tributo sports a brand new body with a liftback styling, the rear end of which reminds this author of the Audi A7 Sportback. The team that worked on the project is comprised of Alessio Minchella,a freelance designer and teacher at the IED Turin school, Alessandro Camorali, Camal founder, and Paolo Garella who developed the idea behind the concept.

Camal Studios states:

“Stylistic influence is born from the famous Ghibli, Bora and Kashmin, and creates a new interpretation of “Trident” grand touring. The Fastback body was a natural choice for underlining the sporting character of the brand. Our intention was to merge a strong character with the essential characteristics of quality, comfort and elegance, that are typical of Maserati. We looked for inspiration in our Turin car design heritage,and the work of best car designers from the past, in order to meet the most rigorous, structure design technics. A balance is achieved through use of simple sections along the central part of the car. The protruding wheel arches are reminiscent of the powerful V8 of ‘60s and ‘70s from overseas, reinforcing the visual impact of the car body that lives and enhances the symbiosis, with the basic architecture. The front and the rear are treated and embellished only in a functional way, thus emphasizing the simple and sculptural shapes, that makes Tributo an exercise in elegance, with a strong identity.”

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