New York Taxi

Designed on invitation from the New York Museum of Modern Art for the exhibition “The Taxi Project: realistic solutions for today”, it is a clean, compact and secure container for urban transportation.

Compared to super cars, the New York Taxi represents a breakthrough in Giugiaro’s design philosophy: pure aesthetical research gives way to pure functional study.

The theme proposed by New York MoMA is the occasion for a study of a vehicle for individual urban transportation. The New York Taxi offers accommodation for five passengers, the driver and plenty of room for baggage in a lenght of just four meters.

First and foremost this design is a container for individual urban transportation. The beauty of its shape was of secondary importance. The area available to passengers is about 2 square meters, but compared to a classic New York yellow cab, the New York Taxi occupies 30% less area due to the great increase in the proportion in height, about 400 mm. Oceans of glass provide perfect visibility and a plate-glass window in the middle of the roof treats the passengers to a panoramic view of the sky.

The sliding passenger door eases entry and leaves the door opening completely free from street obstructions. Difficulties in loading baby carriages and wheelchairs are eliminated by the retractable ramp that lies under the floorboard.

The search for improved roominess begins with this project and marks the whole history of Italdesign, until the 2010 Emas project.