Table of contents for No. 171 in AUTO & DESIGN

At the forthcoming Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach this August, Pininfarina will be presenting the Hyperion, a new one-off created especially for a client. Built on the base of a Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupé, this is a homage to the great cars of the prewar era. The style, dimensions and road presence of this car are unlike anything else in production today. Pininfarina is also set to unveil its new electric car, developed together with the French Bolloré. The car, which will be presented in late September at the Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris, will go on sale simultaneously in Europe, the US and Japan in 2010. Al prossimo Concorso d’Eleganza di Pebble Beach, in agosto, la Pininfarina presenterà Hyperion, nuova fuoriserie allestita appositamente per un cliente. Realizzata sulla base di…

When he laid down the foundations for the future Ibiza, Luc Donckerwolke could never have imagined that Project SE 250 would take him to head of Seat design. The year was 2004 and he was comfortably settled in at the Lamborghini style centre at Sant’Agata Bolognese, where he headed a small and highly creative team assigned to him by chief of design for the Volkswagen Group Walter de’ Silva, which also occasionally produced styling proposals for other brands in the group. One of these projects was for the new generation B segment Seat, which was to take Donckerwolke from Italy to Spain – from the marque of the raging bull to the land of the bull. In August 2005, de’ Silva and the group management asked him to oversee the…

The HED-5 i-Mode, the latest concept from Hyundai, may well be remembered mostly for the new ‘magic’ paint by Bayer that can ‘heal’ small scratches by itself. It would be a shame, though, because this study for a six-seater MPV represents much more than that: not just in terms of the materials used – impressive in their own right – but also for its formal language and eco-dynamics. Presented at Geneva, the i-Mode offers a vision of the future in both its forms and its content. “A new impression”, boldly claims the Korean brand’s marketing spiel for this creation of its German design centre. And not just because of its swivelling, sliding seats or state of the art electronics, with internet, videogaming, mobile phone and entertainment functions combined with the…

Every year, the Villa D’Este Concours d’Elegance offers a fresh opportunity to discover new gems of the coachbuilder’s art. Reluctantly, we have had to limit our choice here to just five magnificent examples. Daimler Double Six 50 Saloon (Martin Walter), 1932 The Double Six is an example of automotive extravagance comparable only to the imaginings of Voisin and Bucciali. This is one of the most flamboyant iterations of British pride and one of the most extrovert automobiles in the history of locomotion. This outrageous car is extremely rare, as Daimler built only twenty-six models on this gargantuan chassis. Those still surviving are priceless, and their public appearances few and far between. This incredible motor car, presented by Peter Ministrelli and fresh from a long and painstaking restoration project completed in…

Based on the mechanicals of the Maserati Coupé Gran Sport, the A8GCS Berlinetta is a style model built to a design by the director of the Touring style centre, the Belgian Louis de Fabribecker. The sports vocation of the car is expressed through consistent, well balanced proportions underscored by original graphic solutions, such as the bonnet that drops down to meet the top edge of the grille, thrusting the car forward forcefully and suggesting an impression of speed. The flanks, tautened by a muscle line joining the front and rear wheel arches, explicitly cites a classic styling cue of the legendary Flying Stars. “Touring style”, says Louis de Fabribeckers, “defines itself perfectly by itself. Firstly, through consistent, well balanced volumes, with a short front over-hang, a front-mid engine position and…

The only person missing that day was Franz von Holzhausen, head of the Californian design centre in Irvine, who was represented, however, by his second in command Jordan Meadows. Apart from him, every one of the men responsible for elevating Mazda’s status over the past two years to one of the most innovative design brands in the world was there. Their next mission is to translate the concepts of nature and fluidity developed in the Nagare series of prototypes (beginning in 2006 with the Nagare itself – meaning flow, followed by the Ryuga, the Hakaze and the Taiki in 2007 and the Furai presented this year at Detroit) into production reality. Also at what transpired to be an interesting and unusual Mazda Design Workshop held in the Utrecht factory building…

This year’s furniture show is confirmation of the interest of carmakers – which was already manifest in the previous three editions – in dialoguing with the great media circus of design through the numerous opportunities for meetings offered by the Milanese Design Week in the satellite events hosted at venues throughout the city. Carmakers are exploring various strategies, in which the car exists and is represented in different contexts: as a starting point, as a background and as a counterpoint to the presentation itself. After last year’s absence, Lexus makes a return to the exhibition space of the Permanente museum. Elastic Diamond is the title of the installation created in collaboration with the Japanese design studio Nendo, which consists of the SUV LF-Xh prototype in the guise of a completely…

The unmistakable elegance and beauty of the GranTurismo designed by Pininfarina and presented at Geneva in 2007 are still all there. Under the bonnet, however, hides a new 4.7 litre V8 developing 440 bhp, and to reflect this new power, the exterior has gained in both aggressiveness and sportiness. This has been achieved without resorting to gratuitous ornamentation, however, as every addendum distinguishing the new GranTurismo S has been deftly tailored to preserve the balance of the original coupé. The sill skirts and rear spoiler – the most evident discerning features – were honed in the wind tunnel to improve the aerodynamics of the whole car. As a result, the GranTurismo S is more ground-hugging, perfectly poised on special seven spoke 20” wheels based on a stylised trident motif. This…

Kuga is Ford Europe’s first crossover. The significance of the Kuga goes further than that, however, as this is a new product in the broadest sense of the term, in which style is called upon to define a bold personality midway between a multipurpose all wheel drive vehicle and a coupé. “The development of this car”, explains Claudio Messale, chief exterior designer for Ford Europe, “was based on the IosisX concept that debuted at Paris in 2006. While the cues have been softened, elements of Ford kinetic design are still evident, creating an impression of dynamic energy even when the car is standing still.” Measuring 4443 mm long and standing 1667 tall, the Kuga uses a Focus/C-Max derived platform and is powered by a turbodiesel Duratorq TDCi 2.0 (Euro 4)…

This has almost been the automotive equivalent of handing over the Olympic torch, from Turin 2006 to Beijing 2008. At the motor show held this April in the Chinese capital, which once again highlighted – with figures testifying to an unprecedented commitment – the vitality and growth of this nation’s burgeoning automotive industry, the contribution of Turin designers played a central role. In this scenario of apparently unrelenting growth were numerous cars conceived in Italy’s automotive capital, and Pininfarina, Giugiaro and Torino Design all now have established roots in the heart of the prodigious Chinese market. In fact, Torino Design presented eleven new models at Beijing – which is all the more impressive when you consider that this is from a studio founded only two years ago. And it was…

Small minivans are not the most successful of typical versatile European concepts. Except for the Opel and Vauxhall Meriva, the segment leader for years. So creating a successor is a great challenge, an obligation to the current model’s success. But during the last Geneva Motor Show General Motors Europe presented a concept that is more than a make-over of the running Meriva. While keeping up with the practicality of today’s Meriva, the concept adds functionality and fresh design beyond innovative rear-door flexibility. Unlike the current Meriva, which was in part conceived in Brazil, the concept project is totally European. It still sits on a wheelbase of 264cm, 1cm longer than today’s Meriva, but it measures 422cm overall length instead of 405cm, with additional width of 176cm (+ 6.5cm) but slightly…

BMW had three goals for the M1 Homage project. The first was to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the M1 – which to this day still remains the only mid-engined car produced by the Bavarian marque – in the same celebratory vein that spawned the Mille Miglia concept in 2006 and, twelve years ago, the ACV30 concept marking thirty years since a Mini won the Monte Carlo rally. The second was to rekindle the old tradition that spurred so many participants of the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance in the past to create bespoke cars for the occasion (the M1 Homage was presented at Villa d’Este this April). The third was to offer a glimpse of the style of a hypothetical M1 of the future – although there are no production…

The elegant Bellagio Fastback, with the exterior penned by Alessandro Dambrosio, who previously worked at the Alfa Romeo style centre, and interior by Louis de Fabribeckers, is conceived as an offering for the small yet opulent market for one-off cars, which has made a prodigious comeback over the past few years. Based on the Maserati Quattroporte, the Bellagio Fastback reinterprets the high performance grand tourer theme, adding load space and practicality to create the ideal solution for everyday use and leisure in a formula known as the “coupé de chasse” or “shooting brake – a genre which saw its heyday in the 1950s. “The term modification”, says Alessandro Dambrosio, “was once mainly used to describe the activities of a certain segment of the Italian coachbuilding industry. The word means modifying…

Thirty years in thirty days. Idea Institute celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with the public unveiling of the new pure two-seater Era concept, which was created in just 30 days. Founded by Franco Mantegazza in 1978, Idea Institute grew throughout the 1980s and 1990s into a network spread over six operational centres capable of taking care of the entire development of an automotive product: from styling and full-scale modelling to engineering, prototyping and industrialisation. Over its history, Idea Institute has been responsible for a number of significant research projects (including all VSS Fiat subsystem vehicles) and successful models such as the Nissan Terrano and Daihatsu Move, working with prestigious market leaders such as Cagiva, Ducati, Telecom Italia, Hoover and Saporiti. In the early ‘2000s, Franco Mantegazza sold his company to the…

The French marque emphasised its role as a patron of design with the competition for young designers titled C-Design: Combine, Connect, Create. The brief was to reinterpret and combine a hundred mechanical and bodywork components picked from the Citroën automotive parts bin, including objects such as wings, handles, suspension elements, headlamps and so on, to invent new household products for everyday life. The designs of the ten finalists (from which the three winners were selected) were adjudicated by a panel of experts composed of Fulvio Cinti, Alberto Bassi, Virginio Briatore, Ambra Medda, Anna Yudina and Jean-Pierre Ploué (director of the Citroën design centre) and headed by the designer and architect Ferruccio Laviani. Out of this eclectic jumble of objects came a number of innovative design solutions stimulating reflection on broader…

Just like people, some cars are more photogenic than others. Unlike certain models that are slightly disappointing when finally seen in the flesh, the new Lancia Delta expresses its best when seen on the road, where it looks more dynamic and decidedly more attractive than it does in the pre-launch pictures. It is with the car in movement that the sleek angle of the bonnet, the waistline descending across the nicely sculpted body and the effective ‘flying bridge’ solution adopted for the roof are best appreciated. The term has been borrowed from the nautical world to describe the structure of the roof, painted black from the A pillar to the aftmost extremity of the rear screen. This original expedient, splitting the body into two distinct sections, also continues a theme…

A car offering typical premium D-segment comforts combined with a sporty image, environmentally friendly engines and class-leading safety technology content. This is the eighth generation Honda Accord, launched in both saloon and Tourer guises, continuing an evolution process which, since 1976, has produced 16 million units. Compared with the outgoing version, the new car looks more planted on the road: width is up by 80 millimetres (now 1840 mm) and height is down by 10 mm (1440) while overall length has grown by approximately 50 mm for the saloon and shrunk by 10 mm for the Tourer, which now measure 4726 and 4740 mm respectively. The whole is complemented by an exciting visual impact, with more muscular arches and a more aggressively defined face, with a large V shaped grille…

Steel panels and components, electric motors, complicated origami-like mechanisms and compartments for storing these elements, robbing space from the boot or cabin. Increasingly, the folding roofs in modern open topped cars add substantial complexity to the equation, incurring penalties in terms of weight, space and costs. Going against this trend, Webasto – the leading convertible roof system manufacturer – presented a study at the recent Geneva Motor Show for an essential convertible developed in collaboration with a team of final year students of the IED in Turin, guided by chief designer Andrea Militello. The project, based on Alfa Spider mechanicals, began in 2006, as Militello recalls: “We had already worked together with Webasto the previous year in the creation of the X1-99 concept. The goal this time was to develop…

Do synthetic materials offer alternatives to the conventional rigid steel bodyshell? Is side by side the ideal seat configuration? Do all functions really need to be visible all the time, even when not in use? These are just some of the questions addressed by BMW designers in the GINA (Geometry and Functions In N Adaptions) advanced research project. Taking nothing for granted, the relationship between form and function has been reinterpreted considering the possibilities offered by industrial materials normally not associated with the auto industry, such as an elastic skin applied to an underlying structure defining the forms of the car instead of familiar sheet metal. Esistono alternative alla carrozzeria rigida in acciaio o in materiale sintetico? La configurazione ideale dei sedili è uno accanto all’altro? È indispensabile che tutte…

The Vision III – an Italian citizen with a Chinese passport. The most recent concept presented by the Chinese JAC (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co Ltd) at the Beijing motor show was completely designed and engineered in Turin, at JAC’s new European advanced design centre (the Italian Research Development Center, situated next to the Polytechnic) headed by general manager Lou Tik. “Three years since the Vision I and Vision II concepts”, explains Lou Tik, “and just after the Eagle, which explored the possibility of developing our brand identity in the SUV sector, we decided to continue the formal research on our future production models with a D segment saloon.” JAC management has tasked the Vision III, which was built by Vercar Model, with a series of decidedly tough objectives. Firstly –…

Paris, October 1957 – a wiry Mario Revelli di Beaumont cuts a distinguished figure dressed, as usual, in a perfectly tailored pinstripe suit, as he strolls with a smile on his face through the halls of the city’s motor show. Like his suit, he wears his fifty years of age with elegance and grace. Born in Rome on June 25, 1907 and heir to a great Piedmontese family, Mario Revelli di Beaumont was at the peak of his career at the time. In 1955 he had gone back to Simca to head the French marque’s style centre. At the 1957 Parisian motor show, Simca presented the Chambord and the Aronde P60 which reinterpreted the fins, ornamentation and colours of the other side of the Atlantic in scaled down form. In…

It doesn’t happen very often in Italy that a large retail chain invests in the talents of young local designers for the renewal of its product range, holding clinics with members of the public to evaluate which prototypes are best suited for marketing. The initiative, which gave rise to the Eureka Coop range launched a few months ago, is the product of a design research programme proposed in 2005 by designer Giulio Iacchetti, who also coordinated the entire development of the project. The new range reinterprets everyday objects in a functional key while meeting a number of fundamental design prerequisites: low pricing, ergonomics and recyclability, in keeping with the ‘policy of democratic trade’ traditionally championed by the Coop. The items are intended for a wide spectrum of consumers who have…

The 308 SW is not your average estate in either shape or formula, a continuation of the theme inaugurated with the 307 and halfway between the classic station wagon and an MPV. For the 308, Peugeot has decided to carry over the tall architecture (at just over one and a half metres) of the previous generation. In the SW, this lofty stature has been compensated to some degree by a lengthening of both the wheel-base (10 cm more than the hatch) and the rear overhang (12 cm longer), resulting in an overall length of exactly 450 cm. Size aside, the tail is defined by decidedly unusual forms, with inverted rear pillars ending in a curve following the profile of the rear screen which, incidentally, also opens separately. Throughout the rest…

Luxury, high technology and a huge commitment to hybrid powertrains – in a word, Lexus, the premium iteration of Japanese carmaker Toyota. Created in the Eighties, the brand broke onto the US scene in 1989 and has been on sale in Italy since 1998, distributed by the Toyota network. Toyota top brass have recently announced plans for further improvements in Lexus management strategy, which will translate into a ‘five-star’ treatment for the client. No surprise, as the philosophy of this brand has always been to develop ‘special’ motor cars. And, while Mercedes influence was evident in the styling, over the years, the marque has progressively evolved its own language. Spearheading this new philosophy is the new LS 460: a luxury saloon based on Lexus’ L-Finesse styling concepts, which projects the…

As yet, there is still no magic formula to rid major cities of the problem of traffic and pollution. Nonetheless, interesting results can still be achieved through projects targeting specific mobility requisites. The European HOST (Human Oriented Sustainable Transport) project promoted and coordinated by the CIRPS centre of the La Sapienza University of Rome tackled the service vehicle sector with a design for a low environmental impact modular vehicle conceived to operate in a scenario of intelligently rationalised resources. The conceptual inspiration came from large industry and heavy goods transport, where the same vehicle is used 24 hours a day. Accordingly, HOST is a vehicle devised for constant use that can be quickly modified for different applications at specifically equipped stations. This effectively means fewer units on the road which,…

Lightness is becoming a priority in the evolution of the automobile. Less weight means a better ratio between performance and consumption which, as a consequence, means less exhaust emissions. Moreover, having a lower mass to start with means that cars can be loaded with more comfort and dynamic vehicle control features without encumbering the vehicle with excessive weight. Last but not least, a trim weight answers perfectly to the needs of tomorrow’s alternative energy solutions. And all of this without compromising on safety: in fact, lightness is often synonymous with greater protection and comfort. Setting an example of efficiency in this direction is JSP, the world’s leading producer of expanded poly-propylene, with its product Arpro. This material, used in the construction of a number of components found today in over…