Double Deck Columbus Minivan.

The beginning of the 1990s was the heyday of single-volume cars. Giorgetto Giugiaro and Italdesign were at the forefront of the trend with the introduction of the luxury minivan.

In fact, Columbus, named in honor of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, is more than just a van. Appearance is only half of the song.

The other was a carbon-fiber body, a 5-liter V12 from BMW that developed 300 horsepower, an all-wheel drive transmission with four steering wheels.

The driver was seated on top of the engine, higher than the rest of the passenger compartment. With a central driving position and a swivel seat, the driver surely felt like the captain of a ship. The rest of the crew enjoyed multifunction seats with monitors connected to TV networks and VHS player.

Looking up, a vast panoramic sunroof helps to open up and lighten the interior and is surrounded by fiber optic ambient lighting.

The standard configuration was 1+2+2+2, but the layout was flexible and allowed the number of passengers to be increased to nine if needed. The seats could also be removed transforming the luxury cruiser into a commercial vehicle.

The Columbus was an inspiring vision of the coolest monovolume in automotive history with no plans for its mass production.