Auto Design

On the occasion of the delivery of the first Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, tet me share with you this report I compiled last year for few motoring mazaines around the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Sorry, my friends, for having been absent for such a long time. As a friend of mine keeps telling me….troubles happen. Indeed, he does not say troubles but the word he uses does smell and I think it is not appropriate to repeat it here.

I was just about to leave for a week to California when a major thunderstorm badly injured the telephone lines in my area and sent my computers to different repair shops. Today I am still waiting for the telephone company to repair my ADSL line and if you can see new stuff eventually posted, it is simply because of the hospitality of friends of mine who let me access the internet through their line. To do this I visit them once a day, which means I am currently running on idle. As this were not enough, my portable PC got infected by a virus while I was in the USA. Now it is at the doctor but tomorrow it should be back home.

In addition, last night, another major thunderstorm has hit Sardinia and both electric and telephone lines have been disrupted.

Nevertheless, I did not stop going after new and no-so-new features and news.

Through the past two weeks, I have driven the new Mini E, the electric two-seater, in Beverly Hills, Southern California, visited the Los Angeles Auto Show there, visited the Jay Leno Garage (called Big Dog Garage) in Burbank (of which I am not allowed to show pictures, since they are copyright of NBC). On the contrary, I will be very proud to report of the weekly gathering of exotic and interesting cars that takes place every Saturday morning in Irvine, California, on the Ford and Mazda parking lot under the courteous supervision of John Clinard.

Back home I have been confirmed that Jason Castriota is going to be the director of design at Stilebertone, effective December 1^st and that the GAC “Vip Lounge” show-car designed and built by Stilebertone has been elected Star of the Show after its unveiling at the Guangzhou Auto Show on November 19^th.

In the meantime the publication in Automotive News of an image associating the Lamborghini Miura to a full scale model of a sports car reportedly outlined by Giorgetto Giugiaro in his latest days at Bertone with the suggestion that it was the “seed” for the actual Miura has set fire to an old argument about the designer of the Miura. Last August, I promised to investigate the matter once again and, through these months, I have very cautiously asked old questions (once again) and search for some facts. I shall come back to this when I am able to reach my conclusions.

Let me ask for your help in the meantime. Late in the eighties, the British magazine AUTOCAR published a report that featured the Maserati Ghibli and Giorgetto Giugiaro with/versus Marcello Gandini and the Lamborghini Miura. Is anybody out there who can send me copy of that report? I would like to read it again.

You might have seen the recent reports posted in the couple of past days. Tomorrow I hope to bring you my previous report  on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Now that it has reached the U.S.A. you may like a refreshing of the news and comments.

Ciao.

The first Alfa 8C Competizione destined for the United States enthusiasts has been delivered today to James Glickenhaus, the car collector that has commissioned and own the only Ferrari P4/5 built so far.

There was an handover ceremony “Miller Motorcars” in Connecticut and James Glickenhaus took the opportunity to say he was particularly proud of being the first American customer to receive an Alfa Romeo. Subsequently, James took his first ride in the car.

Read the rest of this entry »

Many Alfa Romeo executives and enthusiasts should pay attention to the “VIP LOUNGE show-car” one of the top-six Chinese carmakers has recently unveiled at the Guangzhou Motor Show. The reason is easily said: that show car is a preview of the sport sedan that Stilebertone (see focus story attached) is designing for Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC). Until recently, GAC has been renowned for its flourishing joint-ventures with Honda and Toyota and the only big state-owned carmaker that has not cars with its own brand so far. Read the rest of this entry »

The news is not official yet, but within the designer’s circle of Southern California everybody seems to believe that Jason Castriota – a past student of the Art Center College of Design – will be the new director of design of Stilebertone.This would be confirmed by the fact that Castriota visited the Los Angeles Auto Show and attended the Automotive Designers Night there with Mr. Roland Martin, Sales and Marketing manager of Stilebertone. They travelled together from the Ghangzhou Auto Show to Long Angeles and if two plus two equal four, one has to come to the conclusion that Castriota has not resisted the temptation to take the position that Giorgetto Giugiaro, Marcello Gandini and Marc Deschamp had before establishing their own consulting businessIn a recent interview to our publication, Teresio Gaudio, CEO of Stilebertone has anticipated that the company is expanding its design potential with addition of three new designers and a new director of design. Jason Castriota, the most talented designers of Ferraris and Supercars in recent years. Castriota is credited for the design of the Pininfarina Maserati Birdcage, the Maserati Granturismo, the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and P4/5. Most recently the Pininfarina Rolls-Royce Hyperion “fuoriserie”.Born in New York from Italian parents, Jason went to Pininfarina for a working-stage from Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena, California, but after the planned “semester” he did not return to the U.S.A. He wanted to stay at Pininfarina and learn by actually designing cars. At Art Center, Castriota was a student of Ken Okuyama who later became his boss at Pininfarina.The Pininfarina design studios in Cambiano are regarded by hundreds of designers as the “Best design school in the world”.

VOLKSWAGEN BIO RUNNER.

It is 2025 and the Baja 1000 (The Americas equivalent of the Paris-Dakar) has introduced the “One Tank Unlimited Solo Class.” The only stipulations are: a) one driver and b) only one 10-gallon tank of fuel, forcing competitors to use every bit of technology, strategy, and wit to finish. In the Bio Runner, the rider is positioned inside a protective cage on a motorcycle-like saddle with controls attached to the hands and feet. These controls manipulate all wheels via synthetic muscle-based suspension that offers unparalleled control and traction.Much like a motorcycle, this system allows the rider to lean into turns as well as shift the centre of gravity by changing the position of the wheels in relation to the cab. This system offers an unparalleled degree of control and traction that ultimately results in much higher speed runs.Dual-turbine engines that run at an ultra-efficient 500,000 rpm and operate on a patented biosynthetic jet fuel power the vehicle. Pity the designers do not tell us more about the potential of this fuel that provide all the energy required for the Baja 1000. Do they know or is it just an assumption and a dream? Also considering that the vehicle also boasts an Arial Reconnaissance Drone (AR-D), which feeds video to the driver when visibility is limited and it too needs energy to fly.The Support Team Chopper transports, follows and in the event of a crash, swoops down to perform repairs. It also contains telemetry analysis software, which in the case of emergency, takes over piloting to avoid danger unseen by the driver. Designers: Derek Jenkins; Patrick Faulwetter; Ian Hilton – Photo Gallery: 

Clearly, Toyota designers have been thinking of endurance racing and not F1 for their Racing car for the year 2025 and this is very interesting, considering the Toyota also race in F1 and this years have been made some significant score.According to them, technological superiority and endurance makes for the ultimate racecar that never needs to stop. Not only is the racer powered by highly efficient hydrogen fuel cell electric motors but also each of its body panels is embedded with photovoltaic panels that supply electricity when extra energy is needed.The vehicle features two basic modes: High Speed Mode and Cornering Mode. In High Speed Mode, the body and wheels narrow, creating less drag and resistance to reach its highest speed of 350 mph. The Cornering Mode transforms the body to create a wide and stable stance with expanded wheels, establishing maximum contact and grip through tight turns.Electronics and futuristic development have been considered to support the driver in darkness or unreliable weather: the cockpit is a completely digital environment with a display enhanced by virtual reality, computer trajectory plotting, collision avoidance assistance and a robot co-pilot, which manages the on-board systems and repairs so that it can maintain full speed all the way to the finish. Sound impressive, doesn’t it?Designers:

·        President:
Kevin Hunter

·        Studio Design Manager:
Erwin Lui

·        Senior Creative Designer:
Craig Kember

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In recent years, Mitsubishi has been dominating the World Rally Championship series and subsequently worldwide Rally Raids the most famous of which is the Paris-Dakar. The continued success of the Mitsubishi Pajero (replaced this year by the Lancer Sport) have inspired the company designers and actually stimulated their imagination. Here comes their view for 2025: the Mitsubishi MMR 25, a vehicle that clearly breaks from convention.That is not just for its shocking look but also for its concept of a multi-terrain, omnidirectional vehicles. To this aim the MMR 25 wheels comes with eight independently-controlled motors each, allowing for “8 x 4” wheel drive so that the car can be driven forward while pointing in any direction. The MMR25 drives sideways into a corner and points the nose of the car outwards before even reaching the apex of the curve while driving sideways or backwards. The MMR25 also uses special Oblique Aerodynamics to give the vehicle aero advantages. The centre wing acts as a spoiler, actuated by pneumatic and fabricated from Memory Metal Alloy while the front and rear spoilers double as suspension blades that are able to control stiffness and ride height.Designer:Jon Hull – Design, surfacing, rendering and animation.

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Mercedes-Benz designers have dreamed of a car that combines a number of sophisticated features. Their Formula Zero goes beyond today’s Formula One racers adding to its thrill a clear touch of luxury, the dynamics of the bobsled integrated into the track, and the grace and efficiency of yacht racing.Reminiscent of the Mercedes Benz racing heritage of the 1930’s, the Formula Zero Racer is loaded with technology designed to extract the maximum thrust from the electric hub motors, aero-efficient solar skin and high-tech rigid sail.Each team is allocated the same amount of stored energy and it is left to the teams and drivers to manage the variables to win the race. The winner is determined by total elapsed time combined with the energy efficiency factor. Spectators at the Mercedes Benz Formula Zero racing Series are treated to a new dimension of racing as the transparent track is visible from all perspectives – even from below!Designers:

·        Alan Barrington;

·        George Yoo;

·        Kevin Verduyn

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The MAZDA KAAN is an electric racecar designed to compete in the E1 races, the pinnacle of international motorsports in terms of technology and popularity. Mazda designer have assumed that by 2025, California freeways have been rebuilt with a sub-level electro-conductive polymer that powers the electric cars of the modern world. Mazda’s patented electronic tire system uses this technology to power the KAAN to reach 250 mph with no harmful emissions!Individual drivers race the vehicles but teams are made up of thirty cars each, all on the track together. Using strategies similar to those in cycling pelotons, the tighter the group sticks together, the more aerodynamic and powerful it becomes.Inspiration for the KAAN comes from electric fields and textures seen in nature, particularly those in a lightning bolt. The unique design of this car is created around its powerful electric wheels while the cockpit acts as a capsule to host the driver in a safe environment, allowing for tighter peloton formations and a team victory.

Designers:

• Jacques Flynn;
• Carlos Salaff;
• Minyong Lee;
• Greg Lee;
• Tim Brown;
• Jordan Meadows

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