True confession: I finally got stumped with this white box. It went by in front of me at the intersection, and I wasn’t really paying attention. Another big, bland, boxy SUV; my subconscious identifying mechanism probably categorized it as a gen 2 Trooper. But then it sent a message rejecting my initial deduction and nagged me to wake up and notice what just drove by. Upon doing so, my only response was “that doesn’t belong here.” Actually, it does, but it didn’t fit in the blank spot I had drawn.
That wasn’t going to do, so I whipped across the empty right lane, turned and followed it. When the Laforza name popped into view, I still couldn’t properly explain it to Stephanie. I knew it was an Italo-American project, conceived during the height of SUV fever, and that the 5 Liter badge meant Windsor’s finest was under the hood. But did they really sell this thing here? Stephanie gave me the look reserved for senior moments. This was not the walking encyclopedia she was used to. Perhaps it was time to put me out to pasture.
posted at the CC Cohort by TheProfessor47
In my defense, the Laforza wasn’t exactly mainstream. It started life as the Rayton Fissore Magnum 4×4 shown in Turin in 1985. Designed by Tom Tjaarda, who penned that more famous Italo-American project, the Pantera, and based loosely on an IVECO 4×4 military truck chassis, the Laforza combined hard core underpinnings with a handsome and plush body to compete against the Range Rover. The initial intended market was primarily the police and military. Remarkably, it was federalized and sold in small numbers, from 1989 through 2003, or whenever they finally got rid of the last of them.
Later versions had the 185 hp Ford replaced with various high-powered Ford and Chevy supercharged engines, in an effort to justify the $60k-and-up asking price. Apparently they have very nice hand-stitched Italian leather interiors. If I ever see one again, I will verify that, as well as instantly identify what it is.
Thank you for this! Living in Canada, I had no knowledge before of this SUV. If I were to have attempted to guess it’s origin at a traffic light, without seeing badges, I would have suggested a Russian Lada model. Perhaps a SUV variant in the Samara lineup. It has a generic ‘Yugo’-like quality to it’s look. I do see Nissan in it’s lines as well. I find the overall angular lines seem to conflict with the rounded, and flared wheel wells. Doesn’t strike me as a premium SUV.
Until a few of these turned up on eBay I never was aware of these vehicles existence either.
I actually saw one in Vancouver, BC several years ago. So some made it into the country. Not sure if they were officially sold in Canada though.
I find this one looks more attractive, with the matte black B and C pillar treatment and the modern alloy wheels.
Fun fact : since the chassis and a few mechanical parts (differential, suspension and brakes) were carried over from the civilian version of the Iveco VM 90 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iveco_VM_90), the LaForza can claim to be the only vehicle to break through the crash test barrier during DOT approval.
At first glance, to me, it looks like a first generation Mazda MPV.
@Daniel M.
I took a picture of this one in Toronto last fall.
P.S. And I also spotted and have pictures of DeTomaso Pantera in Mississauga.
Very neat, thank you. I don’t recall them being marketed here at the time. Perhaps in large urban markets like Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver?
These would look a lot better if it weren’t for the late-Communist grille molding.
Those are fiat uno rear light units
Right, seeing the first picture I thought it was a homemade Fiat Uno SUV.
They don’t look like ’em so I don’t think so. They are much bigger.
My BIL had one of these in the early 90s. They were brought into the States as rolling chassis and the engine added here to spec. I seem to recall that the folks doing that were at somehow connected with the folks doing the “Monster Miata”.
I think the real market was the then-new luxury SUV niche – recall that this was only a few years after the upscale Range Rover hit our shores. They were perhaps a bit before their time as the company went belly up just before the market took off.
I have seen two of these in the last three years here on the eastern block of canukistan. A bright red one and a white one similar to the one pictured here. One was on a used lot while the other was on the road and passed by me in the passing lane.
It looks like one of those generic kind of clip art cars you would see on the banner of an auto body shop or in a Yellpw Pages ad.
You would be SOL if you, say, damaged one of your LaForza’s doors and needed a new one…
A continuance of the grand tradition of exotic vehicles being sold with American power. The Jensen, the Pantera, now Laforza (I’m sure I’m leaving some out.)
I always wondered if that practice made the vehicle more palpable or less palpable to their intended markets.
There were actually a slew of other exotic and semi-exotic machines with Yankee power under the hood:
Detomaso Mangusta
Bizarrini GT
Bristol 400-series cars from the 70’s
Sunbeam Tiger
Shelby Cobra and its rare upscale sibling, the AC 428
TVR Griffith
Panoz
Vector W2
MGB GT ( forrmer GM engine )
Allard-Cadillac
I had to see what a Bizzarrini GT looks like. Definitely a GT, and also slightly bizarre.
The “Yankee power under the hood” is a Corvette 327.
One of the all-time lust objects of my teen years. The name only added to its sexiness.
Gordon Keeble, Monteverdi, Iso…
Never heard of Laforza, it looks like a Sbarro without the Sbarro-ness.
Ha, Sbarro! A blast from the past, I was luck enough to meet Franco and have a personal tour through his facility in Switzerland in 1986. He had some interesting cars under construction there!
KJ
He did have a singular vision.
Facel Vega, Mopar V8s.
DAF military trucks, Hercules engines. 🙂
I used to see these semi-regularly in Southern California back in the day…I also recall seeing one at the Rome train station in Caribinieri livery. Nowadays there are quite a rare sight, I’m assuming the engine lasts and/or is obviously easy to repair/replace but that the other bits might prove more troublesome. Then again, the internet is the great equalizer, seems like everything is available if you’re a fan.
I remember that they used to push these hard Dupont Registry. Even as a kid I always thought it looked like a bad Range Rover P38 kit car…And the price was outrageous.
The only ones of these I’ve ever seen have been on eBay. I also vaguely recall one parked in the background of the polo match scene from Pretty Woman.
I just happened to read the original LaForza capsule the other day (I’m enjoying the updated directories!), with those same pictures of the blue one, and one of the comments said something to the effect of “the interior looked handmade – and not in a good way”, which made me chuckle. I think it’s actually more like one of those interiors that looks good when it’s in 100% perfect condition, but it wears horribly and isn’t actually assembled all that well, or with such quality parts (picture below). I’ve only ever seen maybe 4 or 5 of them, and not for many years now. I did think they were cool when I was young, and I still kinda do… but only in the respect that they’re cooler than a Ford Explorer of similar vintage and if I had access to one I’d love to thrash it in the woods. I’m also sure that any of them still on the road have the Ford V8 under the hood to thank for their existence.
My wife and I briefly considered trying to get our hands on one recently. But it’s too tall and too wide for our garage. (Judging by the crash test results, I think that it would do more damage to the brick walls than the walls would do to it.)
When researching them, I learned that the original electronics were pure trash (surprise!), but a full transplant is done by many owners; if that’s done, they seem to be pretty reliable trucks.
These were called Rayton Fissore Magnum here in Italy and they were powered mostly by Iveco diesels, V-8s were aimed just to the US market where eventually it knew more success…I don’t recall if i ever saw a civilian version, just police and other law enforcement used them. They looked like giant fiat unos on steroids built in the easten block and the whole SUV concept was something like 15 years ahead of its time, no wonder they fell flat on the market…
Being in So Cal in the 80’s, there were actually quite a few of these around (it seemed a lot of Hollywood types bought them..) Sadly, their resale value was not great. But that meant that a lot of ‘regular’ people could then afford them, and most observers thought you were driving a Range Rover……
What an interesting vehicle and one I have never seen in real life; you think the rear wiper motor is broken? According to this website http://www.licenseplates.cc/highs.php?where=OR the plate tags on this Ute are quite expired, but not as bad as a family member of mine who had mid-2009 tags on their Volvo in late 2012.
True confessions: I shot this a couple of years back. Haven’t seen it since. But the LaForza in the Chicago Car Show post reminded me of this.
You may see a similar situation of seemingly expired tags from time to time. I’ve been shooting for five years now, and have way more cars in my files than have had time to write up.
Oh ok. I wonder where this LaForza has gotten to by now?
“1989 LaForza 5 Liter – The Force Was Not With Me Just Then”
I wouldn’t worry about it, Paul. The force wasn’t with the people who made the LaForza, either.
I saw this same LaForza here in my neighborhood here in Eugene many years ago. I did a double take and pinched myself to see if I was still in bed dreaming. What was this vehicle? It does have the rounded generic shape that would suit a smaller car as easily as a big SUV. Who bought it, and why?
Never seen one of these in the metal but definitely has a place in the memory banks. IIRC one of these (possibly an earlier Rayton Fissore) had a ‘starring’ role on the short-lived TV series ‘The Flash.’ I’m pretty sure there was also one in Carabinieri livery in an old Bburago catalogue I once had.
This officially trumps the Lincoln Blackwood I caught on the road last year. 🙂
I remember reading something about these in the car mags in the late 80s, but am not sure I have ever seen one.
The CC Effect has rendered me speechless. Well, almost…
Having observed it last night, I awoke early this morning to return to the scene of this Laforza (complete with Ferrari badging and brush guards), to shoot it for the cohort.
And what do I find posted on my afternoon perusal of CC???
CCers, we inhabit an alternate universe.
I remember when Four Wheeler and 4Wheel & Off Road magazines did roadtests on these back in the day. It was state of the art and exotic at the time but in retrospect it looks like the result of a 3 way between a Range Rover, a Chrysler minivan and a Yugo. Rarity does breed a bit of cool though…
I had never seen one of these before going away to college in Reno in 1995, but once there, I saw at least half a dozen. There must have been one incredibly persuasive salesman down on auto row. The interiors weren’t that awful for the time, but the panel fit defied belief. How could the gap be larger at the top of the panel than the bottom on one side but also larger at the top on the other side? Did they shrink unevenly when it rained?
I’ve seen several of these ‘in the flesh’ – they were relatively common in the Twin Cities area but they’ve all but vanished…in the past year or two I haven’t seen any either in the streets or for sale.
I own one… does anyone know what they’re worth or any other info?
Just saw my first one in person. Davis Islands Tampa. Very cool if only in its obscurity. Love it. ..although for a brief moment, I couldn’t help thinking Yugo suv.
I regret that I’ve never seen a LaForza before. I’ve seen pics of the vehicle, I’ve read Road & Track magazine articles about it. But for some reason it never either was never offered in the USA, or was sold in very limited numbers. It’s a shame. It’s a lovely looking vehicle.
I want one in a pickup, please.