Table of contents for No. 203 in AUTO & DESIGN

A supercar can rekindle a dream – even the dream embodied by Alfa Romeo, which still enjoys a faithful following the world over of enthusiasts hoping for the oft promised renaissance of the brand to come. The car chosen to fly the standard of technology and forge a link with the future is the 4C: “Our history starts afresh with this model”, says brand director Harald Wester. The 4C is a compact two-seater coupé (measuring 3989 mm in length, 1864 in width and 1183 in height) powered by a 1750 cc, direct injection turbocharged engine in aluminium (177 kW-240 bhp and 350 Nm of torque), with rear wheel drive, the Q2 electronic differential with Alfa DNA selector with all weather, natural, dynamic and race settings), and a TCT dualclutch, 6-speed transmission.…

Straight after Frankfurt, another debut for the Sport quattro Concept: this time in the form of a permanent installation at Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich within the Munich Pinakothek der Moderne which is not new to such partnerships with the world of the automobile (see BMW and Lamborghini too, in the past). “For me car design is one of the most important areas of industrial design, it is so complex and intriguing”, said Prof. Florian Hufnagl, Director of Die Neue Sammlung. Opened in 1925, the museum boasts a collection of 80,000 items and is considered one of the biggest and oldest in the world. The theme – the new concept car laid on a carpet of models of the Ur-quattro of 1983, “symbolises the bridge between…

Life today is too complicated and stressful. “We asked ourselves how we could make the automobile simpler and more relaxing to use” explains Citroën chief designer Mark Lloyd, who managed the project for the Cactus. This was the car embodying the concept of design as the union between form and function more effectively than any other offering at Frankfurt, but with that dash of originality typical of the brand in its choice of styling and technological solutions. Practicality is the predominant trait of this hatchback concept, which closely prefigures a production model slated to arrive in 2014. But above all, the Cactus is a manifesto. Citroën’s strategy for a product range split into two distinct lines sees the sophisticated DS family flanked by a C series focusing increasingly on practical,…

When passion underlies a project the result can only be special. As is the case of Autostyle International Design Competition, the annual event organised by Berman in cooperation with Auto&Design and loyal historic partners like Iveco Suzzara, the Mantua Chamber of Commerce, the Municipality of San Benedetto Po, the Province of Mantua, and Milan Polytechnic and the Polo Territoriale of Mantua which have now been joined by some important new supporters, the Order of Architects and Order of Engineers of the Province of Mantua and Wacom, producers of technologies for digital design. Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the event has taken on increasing importance and prestige worldwide. Autostyle lasts two days and presents a wealth of content and novelties but, above all, it provides an opportunity for meetings and engagement…

There is no question: Germany’s motor industry loves its biennial extravaganza at the Frankfurt fair grounds. As usual, displays were munificent and magnificent, complete with an inverted cityscape in Audi’s huge temporary structure and a swooping test track in BMW’s hall that allowed new i3 city sedans to zip around the building giving rides to visitors. In truth, the show is too big to be readily comprehended. The central alley, a kilometer-long, is best negotiated in shuttles provided by manufacturers for the press days, but the show really is simply too big to be enjoyable. Just as the European motor industry is entirely too big to be profitable. Some auto executives believe there is fifty percent excess manufacturing capacity in Europe. More — many more — cars can be made…

While just a concept for the time being, “90% of it”, assures Gorden Wagener, “is what you’ll see in the production car launched next year”. La S-Class Coupé, one of the biggest surprises at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is a new landmark for the Sindelfingen based carmaker. “It will be astonishing”, the design director for Mercedes promised Auto&Design two years ago. And it certainly is. “While the CL name”, says Wagener, “will be dropped to bring the car within the S Class family, it will in fact no longer be a two-door S Class, as CLs have always been, but an exotic supercar with the same mystique as a Ferrari, Maserati or Aston Martin.” While the new S Coupé not only interprets the same concept of “modern luxury” heralded with…

Founded in 1967, with over 45 years of history and thousands of alumni – many of whom have gone on to become leading names in the international world of arts and design – the Royal College of Art postgraduate institute (which offers its students Master of Arts courses) has become a globally recognised benchmark for education excellence. In addition to providing its students with specific professional skills, the college bases its entire approach to teaching on the relationship between art and design on the one hand, and industrial and commercial processes and sociological development on the other. These pages present just a few of the original end of course projects produced by students of the Vehicle Design department, headed this year by the highly experienced senior lecturer Matteo Conti, who…

Uwe Bahnsen (1930-2013) was one of the most important series-production car designers of his generation. Never as widely known as some of the Italian super car stylists who were his contemporaries, he was nonetheless responsible for the design of millions of popular cars. Essentially an artist, recognised as an excellent painter in his youth, he began his working career as a stage-set designer. Enthusiastic about cars, Bahnsen was a successful amateur racing driver, an activity that ultimately led him to shaping cars. He worked with Ford of Europe from 1958, retiring as Vice President for Design in 1986. Under his direction Ford produced such highly successful models as the Escort, Sierra and Granada. He dealt with the technical aspects of car design as well as their aesthetics, during development of…

The Sport quattro thirty years on - reinterpreted in a concept that is both ultra contemporary and true to an original which probably helped define the Audi brand more than any model in its history, becoming an intrinsic part of the carmaker’s DNA. “This car is not just a celebration of or a tribute to our past, it is an exercise in forward thinking” begins Audi design chief Wolfgang Egger, as he explains the reasoning behind the project leading to the Sport quattro Concept. “Three years ago, we presented the quattro Concept at Paris. That was such a strong idea that we decided to take it further and imagine a Sport quattro for today. I saw that concept as a point of reference, the essence of what the brand is…

Laurens van de Acker’s (senior vice president design at Renault) philosophical renewal cycle for the brand’s design direction is nearing completion. Having presented his first thoughts for the French firm’s design future shortly after taking over from Patrick Le Quément in 2010, his thinking went through five subsequent stages. He initiated the process by exploring his love for the brand’s design history with the DeZir concept study, followed by four increasingly realistic proposals. With the Z29 project proposal for the next generation Espace the 48-year-old Dutch-born head of Renault design is now closing the life cycle having reached what he calls the wisdom stage. The result is a major makeover of this now 30-year-old trendsetting high-end people carrier concept. “We had to reinvent the Espace because two years ago…

Volvo presented their new post-Frankfurt Concept Coupé in the course of an evening whose Swedishness was palpable. But above all they presented their Pure Tension Pavilion project. This is a device – to call it a pavilion is a bit wide of the mark – that can be used as an exhibition structure and at the same time a charging resource for the Volvo V60 Diesel Plug-In Hybrid being given its world preview. Chosen from among the one hundred and fifty that were submitted after the launch of a competition directed at the world’s leading architecture studios last May, the Pavilion project was preferred for its incarnation of a perfect vision of mobility and for its interpretation of the portable charging concept. The author of the project, architect and designer…