Table of contents for No. 201 in AUTO & DESIGN

Although in some financial difficulty, PSA Peugeot Citroën is not cutting back on its product development programmes. And as China is now a key market, so the launch of a SUV concept at last April’s Shanghai Auto Show did not come as a surprise. But the Wild Rubis, as the proposal was called, was more than just a promotional message. “It is not a concept study but a teaser for two new DS models: a C-segment saloon and a SUV, both of which are planned for production from 2014,” Thierry Metroz, head of design at Automobiles Citroën, said. “These cars will feature most of the design details shown on the Wild Rubis, which looks like a SUV, but has the DNA of our DS lineup. It sits high and looks…

Villa d'Este is timeless, the centuries of the industrial revolution and the birth of mechanical locomotion forming no part of its heritage. Sunk in a sort of bucolic romanticism, Lake Como enjoys a strategic position that has led to its being coveted by a whole succession of would-be conquerors. The idea of placing objects such as the most refined motor cars of the past – but also a few future-oriented present-day creations – in a context of this kind has something iconoclastic about it. It seems incongruous to see cars which automotive history has decreed to be works of art, slumbering in the shadow of the age-old oak and the wistaria surrounding it. But throughout a long history that began in 1929, the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elégance has shown that…

In 1928, Rolls-Royce built three experimental cars which together anticipated a sporty Phantom: the 15EX, 16EX and 17 EX. The body featured a slim tail and light, airy wings. It was designed by Harold Ivan Fredrick Evernden, the Rolls-Royce designer, but actual development was farmed out to three external coachbuilders: the first was Hooper, the second Barker and the third Jarvis & Sons Ltd “of Wimbledon” so as not to confuse it with another coachbuilder of the same name. This Jarvis was well-known for the workmanship of his sporty bodies, in particular the Bluebird of the Michael Campbell land speed records. Completed in October, the 17EX set sail for India two days before Christmas where its happy buyer resided: Shiman Rajrajeshwar Mahararajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh Indar Mahindar Bahadur, maharajah…

All the style, engineering, performance and history of the motorcycle on show on the shores of Lake Como. This, the third consecutive edition of the “Motorcycle Competition and Exhibition’ organised as part of the Villa d'Este Concours d’Elegance, reached even higher standards than the previous editions, and also added an intriguing dash of mystery to the mix. The absolute star of the show was a motorcycle practically nobody had ever heard of, but which has a fascinating story to tell: the Russian IMZ M-35K, produced from 1948 by the brand Irbitskij Moto-Zavod, which was founded during the Second World War and is now known as Ural. The engine is a rudimentary 350 cc twin cylinder boxer clearly inspired by BMWs of the era. It is the descendant of the military…

Edison used to say “there is always a way to do it better…find it!”. So the top brass of the Jeep brand has decided to refresh the Grand Cherokee and further bolster its already strong position in the market. Five million examples of this model have found buyers since the first generation was launched in 1992, and between 2009 and the present day, its sales have grown by 200% in the US and by 250% outside North America, hitting an all-time high of 220,000 global sales in 2012. This 4.8 metre long large SUV is now offered as an entirely revised range, in which each variant has its own distinct personality and is more focused on optimised performance. Outside, differences include a lower profile iteration of the classic 7-slot grille,…

What will the ideal city car be like in the near future? And what sort of evolution can we expect from a great car classic like the Golf in 2020? One reply has come from the students of the Istituto d’Arte Applicata e Design, authors of two projects selected respectivelyfrom thosesubmittedat the close of the three-year degree and at the end of the Master in transportation design, done in cooperation with Volkswagen and presented on the premises of Italdesign Giugiaro on 15 May. Bellavita is the name chosen for a vehicle hypothesis on the theme “Giugiaro Urban Car” assigned for the three-year course thesis. It harks back to the origins of the four-wheel vehicle, the carriage, as can be seen in the cocoon shape and the wheels that are not…

It often happens that we leave a restaurant with the distinct impression that the excellent, delicious dish that we have just enjoyed is so simple that we could easily reproduce it back at home. There are quite a few recipes that seem so simple that they make anyone believe they can cook like a master chef. And yet it is the most simple recipe that proves just how incredibly hard it is to create excellent results from something which, in the end, turns out to be less simple than we originally thought. So, a little downhearted and frustrated, we are compelled to go back to the place where we first tasted the magic. If we also add the fact that there’s nothing simple at all about the automobile to this…

In reporting on the Geneva motor show this year, I was critical of the Lamborghini Veneno prototype, noting that the company had built its reputation on “cars of great beauty and astonishing performance,” also saying I thought “It’s time for Lamborghini to reflect, regroup, and re-establish some guiding principles.” On reflection, it would have been better to substitute “the industry” for Lamborghini in that phrase, because I find that most companies are making cars without much beauty and completely without the underlying charm of fabulous V-10 and V-12 mechanicals, and certainly without the engineering integrity of the Italian specialist. Making cars with performance and appearance spectacularly over the top, as Lamborghini has done often in its history, is good. But making them beautiful as well as shocking is even better.…

The prototype of the Atlantic appeared at the Paris Motor Show in October 1935. The style of this “Coupé Speciale” stood out from other contemporary creations for its purposely frill-free look. No ornament, chrome, or play of colour was added to the Bugatti Coupé. The Aérolithe (the unofficial name which appears on some handwritten notes) was unique for its metallic grey body which was free of decorations. Only riveted edges, those which surrounded the rear and front wings, and that which highlighted a central line over the entire car, from the radiator to the rear tip, seamlessly, dividing the windscreen and forming a crest on the round rear. The design was inspired by Jean Bugatti and executed by Joseph Walter, the project designer who transposed the ideas of Jean into…

Jacques Peron competed in the Tour de France at the wheel of one of the six Ferrari 250GT berlinette competizione used: this was the 0563/GT which had been given to him less than a week before. In that year, the rules introduced the idea of grand tourism which changed the competition completely. At the end, Alfonso De Portago won ahead of the Mercedes Benz 300 SL of Stirling Moss who was teamed with restorer Georges Houel. Jacques Peron was an authentic gentleman driver. In 1951, we saw him at the start of the 24 hour Le Mans race and the Tour de France at the wheel of the Ferrari 212 Export. From 1952 to 1955 he was present on numerous occasions at the wheel of an Osca MT4. Finally, in…

A result, says Fabio Filippini, that is "much more than the sum of its parts". The Pininfarina design chief is talking about the oneoff presented at Villa d’Este at the end of May: the Gran Lusso Coupé created in collaboration with BMW. “When two brands with great traditions and experience create a vision together, the result is something totally new and exciting.” Karim Habib, the chief of design of the German brand, also speaks in terms of “another vision”, and of something “very different and special in aspects such as luxury and exclusiveness”. You can’t help wondering if this prestigious GT is meant to be more BMW or more Pininfarina, but you’d be wasting your time. The development process, explains Filippini, “was enjoyable and natural, and the result of total…

Designing an attractive looking family MPV is no easy task but when it came to re-designing the Carens – built on the platform of the last Cee’d with a 10 cm longer wheelbase – the Kia design team dedicated itself to the task with the same commitment that has produced a range of models among the most admired in today’s automotive panorama, winners in recent months of fully four Red Dot Design Awards. “We wanted to give the car a leaner look with a design that dressed functionality and versatility in more athletic and dynamic clothing. But without ever losing sight of the flexibility of the packaging, the reason why customers buy this type of car”, explained Peter Schreyer, head of Kia design at the time of the project and…

The Mercedes Benz S model, type 680 S, serial number 40156, entered the workshop of coachbuilder Saoutchik, in Via Jacques Dulud, Neuilly, near Paris. The order was from Charles A. Levine, an American who had made a fortune selling World War I surplus and scrap and said he was an aviator. At the age of almost thirty, this incorrigible gambler had decided to give his wife Grace an extraordinary car. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Saoutchik bestowed a distinctive, tapering style on his creations. His treatment of the front pillar on his bodies recalled the outfits of the past, while the mudguards were wrapped heavily round the immense wheels embellished by a maillechort frame. Jacques Saoutchiks favoured excesses, crushed the passenger compartment and stretched the top. Some sort of vengeance…

For its last appearance at the Turin Motor Show in November 1966, Touring prepared two innovations: a Fiat 124 cabriolet and the Lamborghini Flying Start II, built on the chassis of the 400GT 2+2 (n°. 0904). The company went into receivership in 1963, but production continued until 31 January 1967, before the factory was sold to a chemical company. For one last time the coachbuilder’s styling was expressed magnificently through the Flying Start II. It was a marvel of elegance. The sides were smooth and the body’s beltline consisted of a bevelled edge arching over the entire side. The rear was treated like that of a station wagon and fitted with a fifth door. The author of these magnificent lines was the discreet Federico Formenti (1925-1995) who was responsible for…

The GT of the sea. The Mercedes of the powerboat world. A floating lounge. There’s no end to the wordplay possible to describe the first foray into the nautical world by the Sindelfingen based carmaker. The fast, futuristically styled yacht presented last year at Monte Carlo, will go into production this August by the newly founded and appropriately named company Silver Arrows Marine. Historically, the “silver arrows” were the racing Mercedes Benzes of the 1930s, and the German brand’s contribution to this 46 foot yacht conceived in England and developed by a group of Italians, which will be the forebear of an entire family of small and large vessels, is not limited to its two potent engines, but also includes the design of the yacht itself. “We were naturally…

Unquestionably a 3 Series, with all its qualities of manoeuvrability and the much admired Driving Dynamics, a cargo capacity to make the 3 Touring look small and roominess that is right up there with the 5 Series. And further, the traditional granturismo concept with all its attributes of sportiness and elegance: this formula has given us the new 3 Series Gran Turismo unveiled at Geneva and now on the road. Specific in every detail (the only part shared with the saloon is the dashboard, see Design story in A&D n. 200) it immediately strikes the eye for the descending roof line that gives a coupé effect which balances both the body of the car with its high beltline, and the extra length – it measures 4824 mm, 200 more than…

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