Sommaire pour No. 161 de AUTO & DESIGN

When we met Jean-Pierre Ploué in Turin this summer to talk about the little C-Buggy (see A&D 160), the Citroën design chief was clearly extremely excited about a project that he could say nothing more about than the fact that it was something very impressive and attractive. We were at Stola in Turin and every now and then, someone would step out of the modelling workshops with a furtive yet eager look about them, creating a tangible mood of anticipation. The object of all this secrecy was the C-Métisse, a concept car for the Mondial de l’Automobile 2006. The C-Métisse was intended to fuel the imagination, give free rein to creativity and serve as an opportunity to give shape to a vision of the future and to define feasible common…

A piece of news that has put a smile on the faces of Lancia enthusiasts all over the world and, above and beyond the passion felt for this incredibly evocative marque, which announces a confirmed interest of Fiat executives in the group’s third component. The Delta HPE, presented first as a styling prototype at the Venice Film Festival and then at the Paris Motor Show, is to go into production. It may not necessarily be called Delta, but the production model will not differ much from the car unveiled at the La Fenice theatre at the start of September as part of the centenary celebrations for the Turin based marque’s first born, the 1907 Lancia Alfa. “This is a dynamic yet also very spacious car, midway between the C and…

In name at least, this is a Scirocco missing a nose and a tail – take away the ‘Sc’ at the front and ‘co’ at the end, and you get Iroc. Presented at Paris as a concept car, in keeping with established Volkswagen tradition, this is none other than a taste of things to come, namely a new and exciting Scirocco that will probably be unveiled at Geneva in 2008. The Iroc reinterprets the compactness, agility, space and economy of the ‘Seventies coupé in a modern key, the characteristics that defined the success of the little car with which Giorgetto Giugiaro embodied the zeitgeist of 1973. “It brings the spirit of the old Scirocco right up to date”, says Klaus Bischoff about the Iroc, explaining how this time, the design…

The near future holds soft, sinuous forms for Hyundai’s European designed cars. We had already seen a glimpse of this in the Genus, the concept car unveiled at Geneva in March (see Auto & Design No. 159), and confirmation comes in the shape of the Arnejs, presented at Paris as a preview of the new C segment hatchback that the Korean constructor will be launching in mid 2007. The two prototypes have distinctly different purposes, however, explains chief designer Thomas Bürkle, the head of the European design team that designed both cars at the Rüsselsheim design centre in Germany. “The Genus was a study for a D segment car with a new architecture, a luxury estate with the lines of a coupé. The Arnejs, on the other hand, is based…

While much of the limelight was on the eternal rivalry between Bertone and Pininfarina, there were many other worthy coachbuilders who also made a name for themselves in the 1950s and ‘60s. Touring was one of these, defining a style of supreme elegance in the image of its director, Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni. His lean, elegant figure will always be remembered. Until not so long ago, Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni enjoyed strolling among the cars at all the Concours d’Elegance he attended, rekindling memories from his years at the helm of Carrozzeria Touring, two decades during which the names of the company and its director were, to all intents and purposes, synonymous. Carrozzeria Touring was founded in 1926 by Felice Bianchi Anderloni, who was born in Rome in 1883. During…

Sportier, more aggressive and more masculine. This was the essence of the brief given to Lancia’s designers for the face-lift of the Ypsilon, three years after its market launch. “The most significant work has involved the front end, which is now longer and has greater presence”, explains Lancia design centre director Marco Tencone. One of the reasons for this growth, which takes overall length to 3810 mm from the original 3778 mm, is purely technical, as the use of new engines a 77 and a 95 bhp 1.4 litre 16v Fire units) called for the front cross member to be shifted forwards. The car now has a more purposeful look. “We reworked the air intake in the chin and flipped it upside down: originally the mouth appeared to be smiling,…

Now in its thirty-first edition, the Bologna Motor Show has now taken over the role historically played by Turin as Italy’s official international motor show. This evolution goes beyond the official recognition bestowed in 2005 when the event was included in the OICA calendar (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles), which includes the world’s most important motor shows. Confirming its importance as an automotive event is the increasing number of new models brought to the show, with a total of 109 new exhibits for this year’s edition (from December 7 to 17), including 13 world and 12 European debuts. Smart paid homage to its most important market in Europe – Italy – by choosing Bologna as the venue to unveil its new Fortwo, the second generation of the smallest two-seater on…

Torino Design, a new automotive design studio founded by Roberto Piatti, makes its debut at the Beijing Motor Show with the Lui and Lei (in the drawings), two concept cars designed by the Chinese car constructor Chery. Lui is a sporty, sturdy looking SUV measuring 4.37 metres in length with sculpted surfaces and a front with decisive, bold styling. The volumes of the Lei, a youthful, dynamic compact coupé (4.08 metres in length) are equally sculpted. The two style proposals (for the time being in the form of see-through models), developed by the Torino Design team under the guidance of Giuliano Biasio, mark the start of a new chapter in the style of the Chery marque, which has already worked with other design studios in the Turin area such as…

The French word réenchanter is appealing even before you know what it means: its translation in English is ‘to recreate enchantment’, in other terms, to restore joy, imagination and novelty to an already familiar concept. But the term in the original language captures the spirit so much better, especially as it was, in essence, the brief for a whole car – Citröen’s C4 Picasso. “Almost all mainstream manufacturers have a compact MPV in their range, and we were fully aware of this at the start of the project”, explains Oleg Son, design manager for the car. “These are cars that are bought out of necessity: kids, luggage… it’s a purchasing choice driven by reason, not passion. We wanted the owner to be proud of the car – of owning and…

What’s in a name? For Alfa Romeo, the moniker “8C” represents a significant page in the history of the automobile, that period between the 1930s and ‘40s when the Portello born marque dominated the racing world with the powerful 8C (standing for eight cylinders) designed by Vittorio Jano. Now that Alfa wants to celebrate excellence, competitive prowess and technological innovation or, as Wolfgang Egger puts it, “narrate our past history while looking towards the future, rekindling a whole series of pure and essential design languages to highlight their timelessness”, the decision to revive this name was no coincidence. As further homage to its glorious past, the marque’s newest arrival is actually called 8C Competizione, also in deference to the 6C 2500 Competizione coupé driven by Fangio and Zanardi in the…

From a fascinating yet apparently fanciful concept car unveiled at Detroit a year ago to the reality of production. With the C30 presented at Paris, Volvo opens a decidedly new – and even a little irreverent – chapter in the history of its design and, perhaps more importantly, its image. According to Simon Lamarre, the most difficult thing was probably “taking a chance with what people think of Volvos”, and creating something that was both “a true Volvo and a completely different Volvo”. A Volvo, in essence, that has not sacrificed the marque’s traditional values of robustness and safety, but also exudes youthful passion, joie de vivre, sportiness and perhaps even a sense of the good life, relegating (although some of the Swedish carmaker’s more recent models had already paved…

Ford calls its new design ‘Kinetic’, which means ‘energy in motion’, and it will have a future throughout the brand’s product portfolio. When first communicated with the Iosis concept study at the 2005 Frankfurt motor show, this fresh design theme did not tell the whole story. Only the new S Max cross-over people carrier shared the Iosis’s Kinetic principles. But now that the 2006 Paris show is over, the full meaning of Kinetic has become evident. It actually is the successor to Ford’s ‘new edge’ design language of the Nineties. With two Iosis concept studies presented within a year, plus two new products – the S-Max and a teaser of the 2007 Mondeo – this new Ford design language needs a broader explanation than just describing the individual model in…

“The next step will be to lay the foundations for new products. We are a brand that still has enormous potential.” Geoff Upex, director of Land Rover design, doesn’t even wait for the official opening of the Paris Motor Show – where the newest addition to the British marque makes a return to the international spotlight only a few months after its London launch – to up the ante in the product diversification game, which has led to four new products in four years (Range Rover, 2002; Discovery 3, 2004; Range Rover Sport, 2005). With a reputation founded on over half a century of making rugged, spartan off-roaders, later refined with a few concessions toward comfort and a balance between supreme competence off the road and usability on the road,…

It is a known fact that designers are not particularly fond of restyling. It is creatively unrewarding and, due to its inherent limitations, is actually more difficult than styling a whole new car. The personalisation of existing models, however, is an entirely different matter, with modifications inspired by pure creativity that do not alter the basic bodywork of the car while accentuating its character and rendering it unique. The popularity of aftermarket modification was irrefutably demonstrated by the International Special Versions Competition organised by Berman and open to young design students, who are especially keen to see their dreams come true for the first time. Talent, creativity and professionalism can even be expressed in the design of a new grille, an alloy wheel, a spoiler or a colour scheme. This…

While Volvo turns its attention to the C segment at the Mondial in Paris with the launch of the C30, the students of the European Institute of Design in Barcelona tackle the compact genre from an academic standpoint in a project entitled “Studies for a B-segment concept for introduction onto the market between 2014 and 2016” conducted in collaboration with the Spanish design centre of the Scandinavian marque. The project considered certain aspects of the growing multifunctionality of cars which, especially in the everyday urban environment, need to be small, while offering usable load capacity, easy manoeuvrability and an increasingly flexible interior to cater for both discerning drivers and families with children. In addition to exploring these aspects from a design perspective, the proposals by the students were also an…

Spurred on by the success of its revised product range, the Fiat brand endorses its new direction with a redesigned logo. Created by RobilantAssociati (a brand advisory and strategic design specialist) in conjunction with the Fiat style centre, the new badge is a fusion of the traditional and the contemporary. It draws inspiration from the ruby red shield with vertically elongated script spelling out the word Fiat that adorned the grilles of Fiat models from 1931 to 1968. The border has been interpreted in a modern key, however, with the crown of laurel leaves used to date replaced by an all new chromed frame with a three dimensional effect evocative of concepts such as technology, Italian design and dynamism. A symbol of change in a spirit of continuity. Forte dei…

“The 908RC”, says Gérard Welter, “embodies many of my dreams”, adding: “In these difficult times for the automotive industry, we have to learn to dream if we want to make the public dream”. One of the undisputed stars of the Paris Motor Show, Peugeot’s mid-engined limousine is a truly extraordinary automobile. This is in part due to its remarkable shape and in part to its flamboyant, aggressive styling, but mainly because it is the progeny of an incredibly ambitious motorsports project. Behind the carbon fibre skin, the aluminium honeycomb chassis and the sumptuous hide trim is none other than the V12 TDI – a 700 bhp 5.5 litre turbodiesel – that will compete in the 2007 edition of the 24 Heures de Le Mans as the powerplant for the 908…

Where do we start? With Walter de’ Silva’s definition as “a car that is neither arrogant nor vulgar, but which stands out for its elegance”? Or with the official Audi line as “our first mid-engined sports car that combines the experience earned in countless racing victories with the innovative design and technological expertise of Audi”? However, the truth about this car can probably be read more clearly in the eyes of the thousands of spectators who tacitly voted this as one of the most beautiful new models presented at Paris. The Audi R8 is undoubtedly spectacular: and not merely because it inherits the genes of the five times Le Mans winning R8, but rather for the simplicity of its lines and the harmony of its volumes which, even in the…

After the saloon and estate, BMW – as we’ve come to expect – now presents the coupé version of its 3 Series. However, in comparison with the previous two generations, the new car presented at Paris expresses hitherto unseen levels of design autonomy, with completely new accents relative to the saloon. The Bavarian marque speaks of “autonomous design” and of “BMW identity, but with individual character”. Design chief Chris Bangle goes further: “We’ve made a completely new car.” He then goes on to explain: “The proportions have been changed compared with the 3 Series sedan: the nose and tail, for example, create a sportier image. In projects like these there is always a fusion of the past and the future: the saloon must always look like a sort of bigger…

“With this project, we started from the preferences of the customer. In Europe, the conventional hatchback is no longer that desirable, and something more distinctive, innovative and flexible is needed.” Shiro Nakamura, vice president of Nissan design, explains why the Qashqai – which effectively replaces the Almera in the range – follows such a different path for the C segment, an extremely strategic slice of the market for all mainstream manufacturers. Since the arrival of Carlos Ghosn at the head of the company, Nissan has, like its rivals, followed a path of greater fragmentation of the traditional segments. And so, according to the official line of the Japanese marque, the Qashqai is an “urban nomad” and a “crossover that combines practicality with sportiness and looks great on the road”, adds…

Originally created as an interpretation of the archetypal English sports car for the American market, the originality, appeal and sales success of this little Japanese model have made it a classic in its own right. The first Mazda MX-5 – or Miata as it was called in America – a strictly two-seater with a clear roadster vocation (while there was a soft top, it was meant to be used only when strictly necessary) was presented in 1989 at Hiroshima after ten years of studies on the theme conducted in the UK, the US and Japan. It achieved iconic status immediately as it embodied the spirit of the sports car for all – agile, fun to drive and affordable. The second generation – refreshed in appearance but identical in spirit –…

This interesting research, which opens opportunities for a whole spectrum of new forms, is based on the application of an innovative technology that produces an almost ethereal light. OLED, standing for organic light emitting diode, is a new technology that makes colour displays possible that emit their own light, unlike commonplace liquid crystal systems that rely on an external light source. This means that much thinner displays may now be produced that are only as thick as a film, may be folded or even rolled and which require much less energy to function. This material, supplied by the German chemical company Merck, provided the inspiration for two designers sharing the same passion for light, Ingo Maurer and Hannes Wettstein. The former, in a more flamboyant style, with the same spectacular…

It is obvious at first glance and Daihatsu itself is the first to point it out – in the development of its new compact Trevis, the directors of the marque’s design centre in Japan were openly inspired by that British automotive icon, the Mini. Aspects of Alec Issigonis’ masterpiece are evident in a number of key areas, such as the grille, the bonnet, the rather upright windscreen, the slim pillars and the rounded top to the front bumper. This modern and actually quite pleasing up-to-the-minute interpretation of a classic clads a compact front wheel drive powertrain with a 3 cylinder 1 litre engine in a body just 3.41 metres long, 1.47 wide and 1.50 tall. These typical measurements for an A segment car conceived with city driving in mind offer…

Firefighters – those courageous, capable and dependable professionals who work to ensure the safety of the general public and who are increasingly seen as the heroes in current events, especially since 9/11 in the US and the recent natural disasters that have struck many areas of the globe. These experts in critical situations and the tools they work with were the topic of the studies of the students of industrial design at Fh-Joanneum in Graz (Austria), as a part of a seventh semester project entitled “Future Fire Fighting”. This initiative, entailing the design and realisation of models, was organised by the school in collaboration with Rosenbauer International, a major international producer of fire fighting vehicles, equipment and garments. The students, guided and assisted by professors Daniel Huber (design), Georg Wagner…