2000 - ACA SBarro

i.c@r (soucoupe roulante) - 2000

Paris Motor Show, October 2000, Feu Vert stores stand: a saucer... on wheels! Witnesses claim to have seen the craft at the 24 Hours of Le Mans a few months earlier.

La Soucoupe roulante (i.c@r) at the Paris Motor Show in 2000 (photo by Philippe Calvet)

Feu Vert

On a more serious note, this strange machine is an intriguing creation by Franco Sbarro, commissioned by Feu Vert stores, who honored him with the cover of their 2000 catalog, featuring a superb photograph of Goofy. The car, initially christened i-c@r, was later named Soucoupe roulante (the ic@r name was reused for a multimedia Peugeot Partner in 2002).

Franco Sbarro explains the origins of this astonishing project: "It's a bit of a coincidence. I'd been in touch with Feu Vert for several years, and they asked me to produce a prototype for the 2000 Paris Motor Show. The aim was to show a car that made people dream. Feu Vert and I tried to reconcile dreams and the future, and we decided that we needed something from beyond. Hence the idea of the "Rolling Saucer"! Feu Vert was immediately seduced and the project was launched."

It's hard to tell a Citroën BX from this vessel (photo by Philippe Calvet)

The saucer's underside

Turning to the underside of the saucer on wheels, Franco Sbarro explains that "It has 4-wheel drive and hydropneumatic suspension that allows it to rise and fall by 20 cm. It feels like it's flying! This suspension was borrowed from Citroën. There are 2 front seats and 5 rear seats. The bodywork is made entirely of composite. This material lends itself particularly well to this type of "artisanal" car, and to small production runs. It's more noble than sheet metal that rusts or aluminum that oxidizes".

In concrete terms, the Soucoupe roulante is based on a Citroën BX 4x4, with its hydropneumatic suspension. The interior is based on the BX's dashboard.
The rear of the Soucoupe roulante at the Paris Motor Show in 2000 (photo by Philippe Calvet)
In brief
1- Promotional vehicle for french Feu Vert stores
2- Flying saucer shape
3- Based on Citroën BX 4x4
  • 4-cylinder engine
  • Displacement 1905 cm3
  • 107 horsepower
  • Front-wheel drive
  • 5-speed manual gearbox