With its Quintessenza, Italdesign pioneers a conceptual journey, a revolutionary architecture targeting the new generations in the global marketplace. Inspired by the four elements – earth, air, water, fire – the project places humans at its core, a tradition deeply rooted in the company’s 55-year history. Under the banner of innovation and sustainability.
Joaquin Garcia – The new values of mobility
“The merging of expertise is key to a successful project. Only a fusion of different values can generate a result that is complete in every detail”. When the Italdesign designers started working on the Quintessenza concept car, they set out to explore different worlds, bringing together the most diverse of skillsets and combining them in a mix of creativity and ingenuity. “Here every project starts from scratch”, says Joaquin Garcia, Italdesign’s design director. “I say it again and again: we must not forget that we are a service company that works in the open market. This gives us enormous creative opportunities because we are not bound by family feeling or a specific house style, but we can innovate freely and make our skills available to everyone”.
The four natural elements
The idea behind the Quintessenza stemmed from a desire to humanise technology in a world where we are increasingly distracted by digital reality. “After the Climb-E that we unveiled at the CES in January 2023, we chose a different theme for this year’s Beijing Motor Show. The goal? To put the focus back on to the car itself and the driver. We put together a lean, dynamic team of five and asked ourselves how to get back to basics. The answer was unequivocal: explore the four natural elements and develop a concept car that embodied their essence”, Garcia went on. So, earth would give structure and security to the design, water would provide adaptability, air would be the experiential and intangible part of the car, while fire would convey the more emotional values such as passion, love and attraction.
Exterior Design – The harmony of contrasts
The roots that inspired the Quintessenza are to be found in Moncalieri, the town near Turin that has been home to Italdesign since 1968. “It was here in 2013 that the Parcour was designed, a hypercar that could also go off-road”, says Samuele Errico Piccarini, exterior designer. “The same multi-purpose spirit can be found in the Quintessenza, which is a true 5.6-metre-long pick-up, but thanks to its streamlined profile and contoured surfaces it manages to hide its dimensions behind a coupé silhouette.
“The contrasts are also revealed in the bodywork, characterised by rather strong and pronounced perimeter elements and marked lines that coexist with smooth, polished surfaces”, continues Piccarini. Characteristics that converge in one purpose: the Quintessenza is a vehicle designed to accompany man in his encounter with the very elements that generated him: water, air, earth and fire.
Interior Design – An open-air lounge
Cabriolets aside, there aren’t many cars from which you can admire the stars. “In China, stargazing is becoming increasingly popular. It is normal for us to admire the night sky, but in Asia it is often not possible because of the light pollution, even in the big cities, interior designer Alessandro Rota says. “So it is common for people to organise weekend trips out of town in their cars to stargaze. From the Quintessenza you can admire the sky in the best possible position: sitting on armchairs that convert from seats to chaises longues at the press of a button”.
Exploring sustainability
At the heart of the Quintessenza lies a deep commitment to material selection. “It’s the area where we pushed the boundaries the most in an important research phase, experimenting to the utmost”, says Joaquin Garcia. The designers opted for a carbon fibre frame, while the perimeter and aerodynamic appendages of the Quintessenza are made of flax fibre. “All our materials have a link with nature and focus on sustainability”, explains Giorgia De Silva, CMF designer. The desire to experiment led the designers to use Hero Flooring made with Nike Grind, a soft, recycled and water-repellent material used, for example, for the soles of trainers, for the floor of the Quintessenza.
(Full article in A&D no. 268)
