Cassino (FR) Italy

Picture on the street – iPhone 4

The 2011 Auto Shanghai motor show, opening in a week time, will not be business as usual. Indeed it will mark a new era of the entire world car industry, the one steered by the Chinese market and industry. China is the biggest car market, and the one that is growing faster worldwide. The leading premium brands are betting on for most of their growth in the decade.

For VW China is by far the biggest market. Last year they sold 2 million cars there, twice as much as they did in Germany. For the German premium-car makers, China already is their top export business and might soon become their biggest market too.

So much so that makers such as Audi and Peugeot have approved investment for classic notchbacks that they their traditional markets would not buy in numbers big enough to justify the investment. The new Peugeot 508 is the first example: half of the project production and sales are for, and from, China.

Next will be the Audi A3 Limousine and the all-new Volvo four doors, 5-metres, long-wheel-base Luxury Coupe. This one is just of the many new cars (and some surprises) to be unveiled at the latest hour.

Within this scenario, with their world-premières the top European brands will steal just a share of the public attention from the dynamic home players, which will unveil an overwhelming number of attractions of all sorts.

In addition to the newcomers unveiled in Geneva last month, visitors to Auto Shanghai will be delighted to be the first ones to see in full metal the new Audi Q3 and the Mercedes-Benz’s vision of their A-Class replacement that goes on sale next year. Both in high performance and luxury equipment settings. Both come with “small” 4-cylinder engines with output in the area of 200 hp. The A class is front wheel drive only whereas the Q3 is available also with “quattro” transmission.

Next is the new generation of the VW Beetle that must be up to the design standard of the superlative VW Bulli Concept presented in Geneva, to really catch the young generations it is hunting for. The new Beetle will be launched worldwide from Shanghai and broadcast from MTV World Stage Parties in Berlin and New York, with dedicated exhibitions.

MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households,

BMW reacts to the attacks of its competitors in many ways: with a typical “made for China and built in China (with Chinese partner Brilliance)” hi-tech luxury concept that combines the status and comfort of a long wheel base 5 Series with the advanced, high performance, plug-in hybrid technology.

For a green 5 Series for tycoons sitting in the back, there is another one for those who love driving themselves: the new 560 hp BMW M5, it is called a concept car but indeed it just preview the newcomer due to go on sale this year.

The answer from Porsche comes with the name of Panamera Turbo S, also a four door limousine that now come with some 550 hp and a top speed close to 310 kph.

On its turn MINI has reserved to Shanghai the new ultra-luxury MINI Inspired by Goodwood and designed with the help of they Rolls-Royce team takes the highest quality standards of the traditional, all-leather -and-wood, British design. Production is based on craftsmanship and is limited to 1000 pieces, with deliveries starting in one year time. Luxury can be small and is trendy in megacities.

The Germans are dominating the scene in China but Peugeot and Citroen are challenging them and are very serious at improving their performance there. While Citroen has in store a surprising long-wheel-base luxury flagship Peugeot will not do just with the 508 Sedan and its hybrid concept.

They will also tease the public with the concept of a cutting edge 4×4 crossover with hybrid technology (petrol engine this time, not diesel) reportedly called Peugeot SXC, designed by Peugeot’s design team in China

Photo Gallery

Giancarlo Perini ©

The other day I was searching a story through my collection of Car Styling and I also noticed an interview with Ferninand Piëch, shortly after the introduction of the new Audi 100, the Car of the Year of the time. I found interesting to read again his words and check his visions with the development of Audi (and the entire Volkswagen group) some 27 years later.

Perhaps you too may like to read them and share your comments with other readers.

Status and Trends of Automotive Design Development.

Q: How would you describe the present status of automotive engineering in general?

A: Automotive engineering is currently in a state of tension between numerous influencing factors, some of them mutually contradictory. Increased awareness of environmental problems is taking effect in the form of statutory limits on exhaust emissions and noise, but is obliging us to design engines with unfavorable fuel-consumption characteristics and to increase body weight unnecessarily. However, rapidly rising fuel prices and the drop in our potential customers’ available incomes on almost all volume markets oblige us to devote top priority in our development work to reducing fuel consumption. All in all, therefore, automotive engineering is striving to achieve the optimum compromise between economical running and long-term durability, with increased safety and environmental acceptability thrown in at the same time. Considerable progress in the field of electronics and in the materials sector has resulted in technical features appearing on production vehicles which would have been considered impossible to achieve only a short time ago.

Q: In your opinion, what areas of production technology can be expected to make the most significant progress in the next 10 or 20 years?

A: There is no doubt that in coming years we shall make progress in terms of a still greater degree of mechanization on an increasingly “intelligent” basis. The motive for introducing handling robots and automatic welding machines is of course not merely their ability to perform the work more cheaply than human beings, but also the fact that they achieve consistently high levels of quality. Other possible areas in which production technology may make progress are closer links between development and production by means of CAD/CAM systems, or the introduction of new materials, which are in particular bound to be lighter in weight than those they supersede.

Q: Could you anticipate for us just what Audi’s strategic options for that same 10 to 20 years from now period might be, to include plans as a part of the VW Group, technical options, new model ranges and the company’s image as well as any other points you feel to be pertinent? A; We intend to extend our range of models further, though of course each new model has to be most carefully assessed in terms of its cost and benefit for the company. It is therefore impossible to state in generally valid terms whether these new models will be derived from existing ranges, perhaps in the form of coupes or estate cars, whether top models will have turbocharged engines or whether four-wheel drive will be offered in specific cases additionally or exclusively.

Q: Well, to put it another way, what is Audi’s design philosophy? And to what extent does the new Audi 100 reflect that philosophy?

A: Audi’s design philosophy is a very clear one: to offer the customer maximum benefit while incurring minimum outlay on raw materials and energy. The new Audi 100 is unequivocal evidence of this policy: a sedan with the performance and comfort of a large luxury car, yet with the fuel consumption of a typical medium-sized family car. It will be obvious that such cars cannot be cheap if they are to be reliable and to last a long time. We none the less consider that a slightly higher initial purchase price pays off in the long run in terms of reduced consumption and the likelihood of a better resale or trade-in price later on.

Audi’s Experience and Technical Orientations.

Q: Could you fill us in a little on the company’s aims and priorities as far as aerodynamics is concerned, and tell us how these affect development costs?

A: We attach high priority to improved aerodynamics. It is pointless for a car to consume energy simply to overcome air resistance, yet this factor exceeds all other forms of resistance at speeds above a mere 60 km/h. Accordingly, there is enormous scope for economies in this area. When designing aerodynamically efficient vehicles, however, care must be taken not to restrict occupant comfort or convenience in any way. We believe that we have achieved these objectives successfully on the new Audi 100. Additional expense is of course incurred in the development of cars with low Cd values, not only on account of the computer time and wind-tunnel experiments involved, but also because production of the vehicle itself becomes more complex. For example, the windows on the new Audi 100 have been installed almost flush with adjacent outer body panels.

Q: What about reducing weight factors? How is this accomplished, when and at what cost?

A: If it is not deemed practical to change to different materials in certain cases, the only remaining method is to design for lighter weight right from the start. That is, right from the outset all unnecessary material must be eliminated. This calls for a great deal of intelligence, but results in an improvement not only in the vehicle’s functioning but also in its safety. I can illustrate this with an albeit not very subtle example: a seriously overweight person finds it difficult to jump from more than a certain height without incurring injury. A well-trained person of average weight is capable of jumping from the same height without the slightest inconvenience, however. The second method, unfortunately in most cases the most expensive one, is to adopt different materials. Examples I could cite here are aluminum and composite-fiber materials. These represent quite a distinct further potential saving in weight, but the economic viability of this approach depends not least on future fuel price movements.

Q: How will Audi’s engines evolve in future, and what will the role of ottos, diesels, turbos and other supercharging systems be?

A: In the foreseeable future, we can be reasonably certain that liquid-fueled engines will remain dominant. This is explained by the higher energy density of liquid fuels related to both their mass and their volume. Work is proceeding intensively on the further development of both spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines. The reduction is aerodynamic drag permits engines to be designed for greater torque at lower running speeds. This in turn benefits fuel consumption, driving refinement and engine operating life. As for turbocharging, which on spark-ignition engines in particular offers opportunities for more accurate control with the aid of electronic systems, I can see still-unexploited opportunities, not only for Increasing power output but also for reducing fuel consumption.

Q: Audi is a leader in the area of four-wheel-drive passenger cars. To what extent will four-wheel drive be applied in future? Will it become optional equipment on all Audi cars, or will it be reserved only for those “special” models?

A: We believe that all-wheel drive distinctly improves not only a car’s overall availability, but also its road safety. On account of its contributions to safety in particular, we have adopted the permanent all-wheel drive principle, in other words, all four wheels of the car being driven all the time. Only permanent four-wheel drive permits the car’s suspension rates and other characteristics to be finalized in such a way as to provide the driver with a vehicle which reacts predictably and tolerantly even in critical situations. Unfortunately, every new technology has to be paid for in its initial introductory phase. We nevertheless hope that before long we shall be able to offer this automotive design feature at such a reasonable price that it will cease to be the sole prerogative of special or exclusive models and will become available in many cases to our customers as an alternative which they can choose if required.

Q: What sort of innovations can be expect in interior design in future, both from Audi and in general? A: With regard to interior design, the further development of manufacturing processes and the introduction of new   ‘ materials will not only improve the optical and tactile qualities of equipment, but will also render functional developments possible. Consider, for example, “active-breathing” seat upholstery materials. Better yet, think of the benefits of physiologically designed seats for long periods of driving free from fatigue, or further improved spring and damping characteristics for seats as a means of increasing comfort. In future, the adoption of electronics could make not only instrumentation, but also controls less rigid in design and therefore ergonomically more satisfying than has so far been the case. For the driver, there will be more accurate information available on the condition of his vehicle and on the road and route over which he is driving. Q: To what extent is safety related to interior roominess and design?

A: Audi plans and designs its car interiors with close attention to safety aspects. Passive safety, as it is known, for all the elements concerned to be designed in such a way as to minimize the risk of injury to the car’s occupants in the even of an accident. Active safety, on the other hand, requires items to be designed and positioned such that the driver need only divert a minimum amount of his attention to the task of actually operating and monitoring the vehicle, so that he can concentrate as much as possible on the events taking place in the traffic all around him.

Q: What have the AUTO 2000 experimental car and the new Audi 100 meant for Audi? Is the Audi 100 the forerunner of a new Audi model range?

A: Results obtained with the experimental research automobile and on the new Audi 100 have confirmed us In the view that we should continue to pursue this direction of development with every determination: low aerodynamic drag and weight-saving construction make it possible to plan the entire driveline of the vehicle for minimum fuel consumption. The performance and comfort of a superior class of vehicle can in this way be combined with the consumption levels of an altogether smaller or less ambitious model.

Some Personal Comments from Piëch

Q: What are your views on Giugiaro’s Megagamma concept and the new Toyota Tercel 4×4 (Sprinter Carib)?

A: Every design which emanates from Giugiaro merits the most careful scrutiny and reassessment of one’s own approaches. This certainly applies to the Megagamma. The Toyota Tercel 4×4 is undoubtedly a worthwhile addition to the range of dual-purpose vehicles being marketed with provision for engaging all-wheel drive. It does not infringe in any way on our own concept of permanent all-wheel drive for the maximum possible active safety and availability of the automobile regardless of external conditions.

Q: Could you please give us your pinions concerning the relationship between and among technical innovation and quality, mass production technology, economies of scale and car prices?

A: Technical innovation and quality do not contain any inherent contradictions. Every technical innovation must be judged by its ability to fulfill its intended function better than an existing solution. Its use on production models can only be considered after the new principle has demonstrated its reliability.

Mass-production technology is a term which can initially conjure up negative associations. The attitude expressed by Henry Ford’s famous promise that customers for his cars could obtain them “in any color provided it was black,” has been rendered obsolete by modern technological progress. Modern automotive technologies permit individually-equipped vehicles to be manufactured in volume to standards of functional quality which hand-built vehicles themselves can scarcely equal. High output volumes quite naturally offer scope for more efficient production methods and thus for reduced unit costs. On the other hand, the same high output volumes necessitate extremely heavy financial investments and involve the risk of inflexibility, i.e. the inability to react adequately to changes in the market situation. Audi is endeavoring to pursue a middle path in this respect, with a production volume permitting to charge prices which enough customers can afford, yet the same time enabling us to rapidly respond to customer wishes by introducing new technological developments without delay.

Q- What can you say about the relationship of aerodynamic efficiency and a car’s aesthetic appeal?

A: We feel that the new Audi 100 is a fine example of aerodynamic efficiency being linked almost inextricably with aesthetic appeal. The visual appearance or aesthetics of an automobile represent, after all, a deliberate statement. Any consistent statement—and aerodynamic efficiency is an element in the statement we are making—becomes convincing, and derives its justification from its function. In this way, aesthetics acquire an evident value and can be freed from potential stigma of superficial features and changes governed primarily by considerations of mere fashion.

Q: Being a world-renowned engineer yourself, how do you personally regard automobile aesthetics?

A: It would be a sad situation if the value attached to automobile aesthetics were to fall. My comments on your previous question show, I hope, that I take an optimistic view of the situation. Our eyes are among the most important organs supplying signals to our senses. The signals which our eyes pick up and transmit influence our entire behavior. In view of this, automobile aesthetics must surely retain their significant status. However, I expect them to be influenced more by function and less by fashionable trends. As several new models launched this year have confirmed, this need not mean that the variety of appearance we all regard as so desirable has to suffer.

Published in Car Styling issue 42, April 1983.

Can it just be a meaningless coincidence than 50% of the winners of the Car of the Century awards presented to top personalities of the Twentieth Century have been friends for almost 40 years and although both over 70, have a lot to share under the roof of Italdesign-Giugiaro?

Late in 1999, a jury of 132 professional automotive journalists from 33 different countries, under the presidency of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, awarded the title of Car of the Century’s to Ford’s T Model and the same awards to four top personalities in the car industry through the past century.

Their choice made up for a very impressive panel: Giorgetto Giugiaro was elected Car Designer of the Century, Ferdinand Porsche, Car Engineer of the Century, Henry Ford I Entrepreneur of the Century and Ferdinand Piëch Car Executive of the Century.

Those who are not familiar with the talent, drive and personality of Giorgetto Giugiaro and Ferdinand Piëch are fully entitled to assume that their role at the top of Italdesign-Giugiaro and Volkswagen is simply a honorary, non-executive, position. However, I am ready to bet (and with me I am sure many who are familiar with these two giants of the car industry world-wide) that they are going to have a lot of fun at developing truly innovative concepts for cars and mobility.

They no longer have executive roles to play day in and day out and are free to do what they like best, even though they will have quite a deal of “representative” work to do.

Ferdinand Piëch has officially left any executive responsibility at VW since 2002 but look at how the German Group has evolved ever since under the strategic direction of Dr. Ing. Piëch and you have just a glance of how constructive and far reaching has been his influence in the development of the group. His “career” in indeed far away from closing.

The grand-son of Ferdinand Porsche, Piëch has obviously inherited the talent and strong personality of the founder of Porsche and these qualities were quick to emerge. At Porsche, Piëch developed the technical department and create the unbeatable Porsche 906 and Le Mans winner Porsche 917.

When the family decided that none of his member would no longer have an executive job in the company he moved to Audi, after having established an Engineering Consultancy company (which design a 5 cylinder diesel engine for Mercedes-Benz) and spent few months at Italdesign’s engineering studios to “learn Italian and become familiar with unique Italian body engineering technique.”

His many achievements at Audi are simply outstanding: a new five-cylinder engine, with tubocharging, the aerodynamic record setting Audi 100, the four-wheel drive Audi Quattro, the first fully galvanised bodyshells for mass production, direct-injection diesel engines (TDI), the first Audi V8, with lightweight aluminium body construction (ASF, for Audi Space Frame, a high-strength aluminium frame structure) and such design icons as the Audi A2, the Audi TT, Spyder and Avus quattro.

There is no doubt that Piëch gave fresh power to Audi’s “Vorsprung durch Technik” claim and has steered the brand profile up market to make Audi the strongest and most successful  rival to the most powerful and successful competitors.

On his turn Giorgetto Giugiaro has never quit his role as the driving force of his company and the recent transfer of long term responsibility to VW means that he has no longer to worry about the orders portfolio for the next year(s) and the job security of his 800 employees.

At 73 and 72 respectively what sort of new ideas and contribution can they add to the history of the car industry? I do not have the answer, of course but look at their records and you too may come to the conclusion that together, and this is the key factor, they are going to really surprise us.

I remember an interview with Giugiaro Giugiaro some years ago, ehen he complained that “Italdesign has gotten a little too big. I have to spend too long time doing company business work when I would rather be designing cars”.

That was back in 1974, when the company employed little more than 100 people. (Car Styling issue # 8, Tokyo 1974). Already at that time Giugiaro was dreaming of a small team of four to five to work with.

Well, I am ready to bet that this is what he is going to do very soon. That will allow him to focus on his vision and concepts for the cars of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

His dream will come true with the complicity of another genius who has become a very good friends in the past four decades and who, is also much renowned as a car visionary by the name of Ferdinand Piëch. When the two met for the first time, Giugiaro did not really know who was the young Austrian engineer but being kind by nature he went to meet him at Turin’s airport and was rather shocked to see that Piëch had ridden his motorcycle from Germany and asked to be met at the airport only to pick-up his luggage, flown-in by his private airplane.

Consider this: very recently VW has introduced two very innovative and attractive taxi designs: the Taxi Milano and the Taxi Berlin. Well, Volkswagen could have revolutionized the design of taxi in 1976 to develop a new Taxi according to the briefing set by the Museum of Modern Art of New York for “The Taxi Project: Realistic Solutions Today.”  Fiala refused to do it “together” and did his own “Taxi Project” that – as far as design goes – was just another major failure. Giugiaro did it with Alfa Romeo and his concept did indeed open the way to the new MPV architecture which starter to take shape with his own 1978 Lancia Megagamma, long before the industry took notice.

Giorgetto Giugiaro reached maturity as a car designer when he (with a partner) established his first company as an indipendent designer. That was in 1967 and the company was Italstyling, with offices in Torino, at Via Giolitti. One of his first and major project was to design the new Alfa Romeo Alfasud for, and under the engineering guidance, of Austrian Ing. Rudolf Hruska. It was Hurska who took Giugiaro from car styling to body architecture, ergonomy, functionality and consequent car design.

Before that, under the leadership of Nuccio Bertone, Giugiaro just expressed his natural talent and natural sensitivity for perfect proportions and beauty to create emotional and attractive cars such as the Alfa Romeo Giulia GT, the Chevrolet Testudo, the Alfa Romeo Canguro through the Maserati Ghibli and the De Tomaso Mangusta (for Ghia) just to mention few among his many successful works.

As a complete car designer, Giugiaro “invented” new architectures and formulae for popular passenger cars, such as the 1967 Rowan Electric City Car, the minimalist Fiat Panda, the tall Fiat Uno, the innovative Lancia Megagamma (the seed of the Minivan). In other instances his job was just to stick to agiven architecture and make it look right.

That is what he did with the VW Golf. The VW Scirocco was born from his imagination and suggestion to VW via German coachbuilder Karmann.

In the “business as usual category” one can list the contributions to Hyundai and the Korean car industry (after many years of support to the young Japanese carmakers since the late sixties) and more recently China (starting with Brilliance’s Zhongua).

NEW CHALLENGES IN EXCITING TIMES.

Will Giugiaro and Piëch challenge their creativity and geniality with a revolutionary taxi anytime soon? Why not? It is easy to image what could come out from the application of the new architecture concept of the Proton Emas 3 and “Up!” to a vehicle  in the 4 metres length class.

If the future is written in the past, we must considering a short and quick review of Giugiaro and Piëch most significant achievements.

Obviously, millions of fans (and probably Giugiaro and Piëch as well) would love to see a new Porsche or a new Panamera designed by Giugiaro. However these are just a couple of rather conservative expectations. It is more realistic to expect something much more innovative and even revolutionary.

I would not be surprised if they will impress us with a new concept/show car at the Geneva Motor Show next March or the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

In the mid-sixties, the Milanese Inter foot-club was dominating the scene in Europe, under the leadership of coach Helenio Herrera and the ownership of Angelo Moratti. Herrera had a lot of talent and a simple, pragmatic strategy: buy all the best players, even if he could not use all of them.

By doing so, he was making sure they would not play against his team. Mr. Moratti was so committed and rich enough to afford the best players for his Inter.

Today, the VW Group is rich enough (and so busy playing in many “championships” around the world, be it Brazil, China, the United States besides Europe and more sub-continents to come) that they can take full advantage of the huge design and engineering potential of Italdesign-Giugiaro.

By taking control of the High Performance design and engineering organisation, they clearly cut-off a source of successful (hence dangerous) contributions for their competitors.

They obviously realise that Italdesign-Giugiaro has greatly helped the re-vitalisation of VW when Giugiaro designed (at the request of Kurt Lotz , who scouted him at the 1969 Turin Motor Show) the Golf which literally turned around VW at their most critical time ever, after rushing the design of the first Passat and Scirocco.

But Italdesign-Giugiaro have been long time, and strategic, partners of some of the most successful brands around the world such as Toyota, Hyundai, and now the Chinese (FAW, Brilliance, Cherry and more) and Malaysian Proton. Just to name a few.

The story with Fiat is completely different. A story that might be worth re-visiting one of these days.

Now one may question who is going to design the revolutionary Fiat Uno and Panda, or the ipersuccessful Punto, of the future. Just to mention a few. Yet one should not forget the early Croma and Lancia Thema, very successful to Fiat’s standards.

With Lamborghini and Bentley, the VW board has experienced how important it is to maintain the original character and flair of each brand and with Italian born and Turin trained Walter De’ Silva in charge of Italdesign-Giugiaro, VW has the principles, the talent and the expertise to ensure Italdesign-Giugiaro will continue to be the “Italian & Independent” design and engineering think thank dedicated to the 13 brands of the Group (add the MAN and SAAB truck to the 11 passenger car and commercial vehicle brands).

My opinion is that the short and medium term Italdesign-Giugiaro will flourish and grow with success and will deliver outstanding ideas to all of us. (Also see next part: Watch out for those Two”).

On the other side, by accepting VW as their majority partners, Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro have produced another excellent piece of rational and excellent design: they have ensured their company, and their 800 plus work-force, a safe future at a time when no business is stable as it used to be. A future that is no longer dependent on the health and commitment of its remaining founding partner (although Giorgetto is enjoying excellent health and is more committed than ever, as the Proton E-Mas proves) and of his son Fabrizio.

They both are not going to quit the business any time soon to enjoy the money and their dividends. Fabrizio is indeed moving into the much wider world of the VW Group.

At 45 he has some 30 years of experience in the business, is familiar with the entire design and industry community world-wide and, with his father, is the professional who has seen and shared the development of most projects and different brands, world-wide, that I can think of.

As for Giorgetto Giugiaro, I see him working with a very small team to projects of his own. He can design a new car every-week but his dream has always been to design and develop a couple of new and innovative cars per year.

This is why I expect him (and Ferdinand Piëch) to deliver some outstanding design and technology innovations in the next months and years to come.

Last but not least, both the new role of VW at Italdesign and the need for their competitors to buy more Italian design and engineering expertise and support, will be very beneficial to the design community in and around Turin.

Official statistics show that the latest and 80th Geneva Motor Show set a new record for “premieres”, with as many as eighty “new cars”, or so, unveiled for the first time there. Now, considering the space in the magazine is not growing with the number of new cars at motor shows, let’s go straight to the point and answer the usual questions: how was the show this year. What was relevant and worth recording for the years to come?

First I would say that I saw more irrelevant, disappointing or irritating cars (read designs) than interesting and attractive ones: be for their design or their lack of innovative ideas/concepts. A short list includes the Aston Martin Cygnet,  Renault Megane CC, Renault Wind and Toyota Auris.

EV and Hybrids are introduced in other pages and I leave it to my colleague reporting and commenting on them, including the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid and the Opel Flexetreme GT/E.

To me the new car that faithfully mirrors the current times was the Proton Emas by Italdesign –Giugiaro because it points straight into the right direction of the functional car of the near future.

It offers the Lotus engineered serial-hybrid technology that will save us oil and emissions, both in town and between cities (even though its 3-cylinder engine could be a lot smaller and lighter). It shows how roomy and comfortable a 3.55 metre long and 1699 wide, 4 full-size-seats car, sitting on a 2590 mm. long wheelbase, can be.

Its design inside and out is stylish and attractive, although the treatment of the surface is simple and conventional.  The smart package and the simple and “two-dimensional” architecture allow for derivatives that are easy and economical to produce: the taller “Country” (with 4×4 drive coming as standard from the hybrid technology) or the ultra-tiny 3 metre, 3+1 seats, city car that can easily challenge the Toyota IQ on price, performance and style simplicity.

Add to all this the notion that this is the car the Malaysian carmaker plans to mass-produce sometime next year and you may agree with me. It is perhaps humble but in my eyes and in my mind it is “the interesting car of the show”.

If the Italdesign-Proton was the most interesting “rational hybrid for all” which were the most “trendy and emotional” cars of the show?

In the department of cars that (reasonable) money can buy I would list the Opel Meriva in the first place, and the Audi A1 with the Volvo S60 next. To be honest I have not made my mind yet on the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a new proposition I would love to love but that failed to impress me. My first reaction is that it style is a bit overdone, access and space at the rear is not enough and its build quality will be a though challenge. I hope to make my mind for good, when I see the Giulietta on the road and in daylight, one of these days.

When the price does not matter, the horizon is a bit wider and wilder: the execution of the Bugatti Veyron Supersport and the ultimate Pagani Zonda Tricolore is simply stunning and makes each unit a masterpiece anyone would like to see, touch and to have in their living room.

On this front, the courage of those who want to revive the myth Hispano-Suiza (with production of the 2010 Granturismo in Lugano, Switzerland) is just amazing and one can only wish them just as much success as Pagani (if their quality matches that of a luxury Swiss watch).

Another “come-back” not to be missed is that of Touring Superleggera. In Geneva the re-born Italian coachbuilder has unveiled a work typical of the company tradition: the Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring, a high-class shooting brake derivative of the superlative Continental GT, a sports car featuring enough space to join a hunting party or a golf tournament with elegance and efficiency This will be a strong contender for the Villa d’Este Trophy early next May, unless Zagato’s latest masterpiece (due to be unveiled there) surpasses it in style and elegance.

Journalists from all over the world who attended the event celebrating the present and future innovations of the VW Group had also a direct preview of two supercars of the near future. Both are not confirmed for production but both, one from Bugatti and the second one by Porsche, are very likely to reach limited production in the semesters to come. Bugatti presented a second (and different) prototype of its four door, 16–cylinder, “Bugatti 16C Galibier”, whereas Porsche teased everyone with a rather realistic “concept” of a rear-midship hybrid V8 Porsche 918 Spyder. Its style is excessive, following an insane trend on one side, and probably disorientating its competitors on the other side. I do not see Porsche going away from its “engineering” approach to body design and I actually expect something a lot simpler from the production car.

From this point let’s move to the more entertaining (and often“déjà vue”) show-cars. Here I would like to start with two cars: the Hyundai i-Flow and the Mercedes-Benz F-800 Style to say that, once upon a time, Hyundai was imitating or (to be more diplomatic) taking inspiration from Mercedes-Benz  now I have the impression that it is the other way around.

I am talking of a certain way to see car-design, of the direction these companies are going, of the lack of principles and orientation for those companies which look outside of their own culture and, perhaps, in the wrong direction.

The consequence of this is that I feel more comfortable in front of the wide and short Seat Ibe EV by the team of Luc Donckerwolke team and the Hyundai I-Flow of Nicola Danza and Nico Munkler than in front of the F-800 concept. The i-Flow shows as many lines as you would expect by summing three production cars but it remains true to its company’s heritage (which has just delivered the attractive and successful ix-35). On its turn the F-800 confuses me with its excesses.

In this respect, after the devastating “big-mouth” look, the Peugeot SR1 and “5 by Peugeot” marks a welcome-back to elegance and style of the French makers. The 5 by Peugeot is very promising and although it may benefit of a bit of further refinement and more (subtle) character it will certainly be a market success when it is ready for production, in France and in China, within the next 12 months, as the new Peugeot 508.

Citroen, Peugeot and Renault also had their share of attention in Geneva. The Renaults are all-right, but do not stimulate attraction.

The Citroens are dress-up for the occasion. Citroen has got the spirit to offer great entertainment to the public and designers must have had a lot of fun at working on the DS3 Racing as well as freeing their fantasy with the Citroen Survolte.

On a more approachable frontline the Citroen DS High –Rider is intriguing as its design confirms Citroen aims to be a “different sort of car” as its heritage calls for. The difference now is that rather than being controversial for its engineering innovations Citroen now plays a safer card by betting on mildly provocative marketing and design approach.

Only a new marketing approach can explain  the direction taken by Nissan for the look of its Yuke and the front design of their new Micra. Again it is marketing that is betting and banking on design with the Mini Countryman, which design succeed in being different, despite being rather conventional with its five doors. It remains pretty unique and I wonder the Mini “approach” to design can be stretched. These three volume production cars are getting suspiciously close to be car…icatures and there will be lessons to be learned from the market places in different regions.

A successfukl life is more likely for well-done “business as usual cars” such as the Ford Focus Hatchback and its Wagon derivative, the new VW Touareg and Porsche Cayenne, the

Mazda 5 and its rival VW Sharan, as well as the Kia Sportage.

Before closing I need to report on the three design studies proposed by the Italian coachbuilders to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Alfa Romeo and to fare well for its future. Following the alphabetical order is politically correct and allows me to close on positive notes, which is always good. The Bertone Pandion faithfully reflects the state of the art of the Italian automotive industry. Officially it is built on the running gears of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione although it is a well known fact that they are those of the Maserati Granturismo. Well, the Bertone Pandion is certainly a most spectacular show-car, the one with the tallest doors ever seen at a Motor Show and the matched by the tallest girl ever seen posing as a model next to a show car. I am not sure this is the car that the real Alfisti would dream of, but it cannot be denies that the show-car designed and built under the direction of Michael, Mike, Robinson, is a real Bertone, with its high tones and excesses combined with a great number of ideas and experiments. I wonder if this is the sort of Alfa Romeo needs for its future or it rather serves to celebrate the past glories of both Alfa Romeo and Bertone.

Alfa Romeo positively need an elegant, very dynamic and sexy flagship if it is to return to the U.S.A. and make some profit. This is the sort of car that the designers led by Umberto Palermo of I.DE.A. Institute have created with a very sexy Italian icon in mind. Sofia Loren.

This is confirmed not only by the model’s name but primarily by the round, soft and sexy lines of the I.DE.A Sofia design study. This is not a running prototype by a full scale model conceived as a stately sport limousine.

Pininfarina 2uettOttanta.

Pininfarina have indeed win the show top honours with its “2uettottanta” where 2 is designed to almost look like a capital D. The name wants to say this is the Alfa Romeo Duetto celebrating the 80 years of Pininfarina For this very reason the designers have made sure (and have got it absolutely right) that their Alfa Romeo Duetto for the future is a real Alfa Romeo. That is compact, light and nimble. Simple and pure. Elegant and with a clear, sport character. This is what the 2uetottanta is all about: dynamic architecture, perfect proportions, sophisticated simplicity inside and out, care for details. The silhouette of the roadster (easy to redesign as a soft-top convertible for regular production) speaks for itself and call for a compact engine installed “inside of the front axle” and rear wheel drive. Precisely the dream-car all Alfisti pre-and-past “The Graduate” Dustin Hofmann keep dreaming about. The dream-car that Alfa Romeo has got to build.

Geneva Motor Show 2010 – Photo Gallery