When Musk launched the CYBERTRUCK last year with its polygon cyberpunk aesthetic, you simply either loved it or hated it. The design was polarising, unique, and so futuristic it was hard to understand just how it could be allowed on the roads.
The thing is though, Musk might have popularised this style of design in 2019, but it’s not new. A whole host of iconic designers in the 1970s introduced this ‘wedge’ style aesthetic, and created some epic cyberpunk visions of the future whilst doing so.
The first and potentially the most akin to Tesla’s Cybertruck is the Maserati Boomerang, designed by the iconic Giorgetto Giugiaro. The boomerang was of course a concept car, released in 1971, but really started the trend for this future forward shape. Louis Vuitton even got in on the action using the Boomerang for a fashion campaign the same year. What’s interesting here is you can see the similarities in the doors, with the integrated window and steel bodywork.
The Lancia Stratos Zero a concept also released in the early 1970s is our favourite of the early futura style designs. The undeniable wedge shape and near windowless side pods make this vehicle fit somewhere between a 2050 racer and the batmobile. As there are no doors, the whole windscreen lifts up for the driver to climb in over the bonnet.
There really isn’t any denying that when Cyberpunk 2077 comes out later this year, that you’ll be driving around the city in something very similar. It’s an incredible piece of design that was far ahead of its time.
So next time you look at the Cybertruck, just remember as futuristic as it looks, it has heritage, and it dates back to the iconic concept designers of the 1970s
