IED Torino, future visions for BMW
Question the concept of the motor car to such a degree that it becomes something else, something beyond current canons. One could hardly have expected a less radical brief from a brand such as BMW, [...]
Seat Ibiza, spanish pride
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 [...]
Lancia Delta, a question of class
Immediately after the debut of the Delta HPE ‘concept’ during the Venice Film Festival in September 2006 at Venice’s La Fenice theatre, Lancia’s designers vowed to do their utmost to ensure that the car’s style, [...]
Pininfarina Sintesi, a leap into the future
While the rest of the car industry seems intent on inventing new crossovers, fusing coupés, MPVs, SUVs and saloons, Pininfarina leaves the ordinary behind with its Sintesi, a research prototype where aesthetics, function, man and [...]
Land Rover LRX, modernist inspirations
Once the design of the LRX - the concept car which was to debut at NAIAS 2008 just a few months later - was already defined, Gerry McGovern realised that the chrome plated blade [...]
Toyota iQ, manta ray image
One of the concepts that drew the most attention at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show was the Toyota iQ. The car was presented again at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, where it elicited just [...]
Volkswagen Up!, iconic simplicity
The design of future Volkswagens will be simple yet iconic, expressing images of functional, robust and universal products. Witness to this is a trio of small concept cars, which stood apart from the crowd at [...]
Frankfurt show, cut down to grow
Do you remember the 1980s, when the first thing they mentioned when launching a new car was its Cd? Achieving the lowest possible drag coefficient was something to boast about and the figure was listed [...]
BMW 1 Coupé, the timing of a concept
“This isn’t just an additional model to the 1 Series range, we’ve been planning the Coupé since the start”, begins a straight-talking Chris Bangle at the unveiling of the new sports model at Frankfurt. “This [...]
Fiat, creative workshop
Originally it was a machining centre, a place where things were ‘done’, where objects took shape. Nowadays, Workshop 83 in Turin’s Mirafiori is the new headquarters of Fiat Automobiles’ Style Centre, an expression of all [...]