The Origins of Wedge Car Design

In the late 1960’s and 1970’s cars were designed with predominant angular silhouettes, often with pointed fronts. These cars have been collectively referred to as “wedge cars”. Interest in wedge car design resurfaced in 2019 with the unveiling of the Tesla truck in 2019.

In covering the history of wedge car design, automotive journalists and historians tend to focus on the concept cars of the Italian design houses of Bertone, Pininfarina and Ital. Frequently, the Lamborghini Marzal is often cited as the first wedge car.

The thesis presented here, is that other cars, built several years earlier than the 1967 Lamborghini Marzal, should be included in any thorough review of wedge car design.

We present the 1966 Cannara 1, by Ray Cannara and propose that the Cannara 1 is the first car with requisite pure wedge car design elements. The Cannara 1 is the legitimate historical anchor of wedge car design.