Combining creativity with complete know-how and modern technology.

I would like to share with you this report recently published in Japan by Car Styling magazine. A special issue dedicated to the Italian Designers and “Carrozzeria”.

Within the territories of one-man-design-show, resisting in and around Torino, Paolo Martin keeps his creativity and design work running in many directions. As usual.  His hairs are whiter than ever but his genius is evergreen, just as it is the case for secluded Marcelo Gandini and public-persona Giorgetto Giugiaro.

He is one of the very few talents left that has a complete understanding of car design and body construction. One of the few men who can tackle any aspect of the process. As such he is a very precious heritage of the traditional art of coach building.

It is for this reason that he regrets that he receives less commission from the car, yacht and motorcycle industry these days of decline. He still has plenty of good ideas that could be turned into a successful project. Even more relevant he regrets he has few chances of passing over to the young generations his past experience, just as Maestro Giovanni Michelotti did with him when he was 16 years old.

On the other side, he is happy to take commissions from private investors and enthusiasts. He loves the human relations with them and the exchange of cultural input, be it from the Arabian Peninsula, the Far East or the Americas.

On the projects he develops for private customers he must keep the secret, unless authorized by his patron.

Recently, he was allowed to release some interesting design works he developed in the past couple of years.

Three projects he had a lot of fun to work with.

One for a multifunctional “Desert Running Suite” that combines a carry-on tent of some 100 square meters blossoming from a sort of very large 6×6 all-road heavy-duty vehicle carrying a small living room with all comfort and all the most sophisticated equipment that tycoons, VIP, government officials may want or need to take with them in the desert for a mission, a week-end excursion or a party.

One derivative also considers a sort of moving “ceremony hall on wheels for the desert”.

A sophisticated mechanism develops the huge tent in minutes and displays solar cell panels providing plenty of energy for the satellite communication centre and other amenities. The execution of the vehicle has been put on hold after the recent turmoil in Nord Africa.

The second project is a typical “coachbuilder” sportcar that is clearly inspired to the popular De Tomaso mid-engined V8 two-seater that the new “De Tomaso” company is to unveil at the Los Angeles auto show later this year. His project has not been commissioned by the company but by a private collector who was eager to see what could done at this time to revive the myth of the affordable supercar and have one built for himself.

The layout, dimensions and proportions are very modern and yet there is the de Tomaso DNA in this car.

This second project shows how Paolo Martin has kept up with the CAD and virtual modelling technologies and indeed he has developed the “2 Posti Sportiva 2012” in few weeks on his PC with all the technicalities integrated into the project and the basic data for quick and economical milling.

Probably Paolo Martin is the only star designer who emerged in the great old times (the 60ies and 70ies) of Italian coachbuilding and has developed his skill to confirm and visualize his design ideas through contemeporary virtual technology.

See his renderings for self-speaking evidence. Obviously we need not to comment on his own, very elegant and dynamic design for a modern mid-engined sport car.

We would simply add that we would love to see it in the real world.

We can show also a third project that Paolo Martin has developed on his own after the instigation of a journalist who asked him how he would design the Modulo of the third millennium.

In no time Martin penned what he calls the “Modulo Enzo”. A design that is absolutely up to the mythical name of “Modulo” and of Ferrari. Again, the project is not just a beautiful rendering created on a PC but a realistic vision (though futuristic, like he Modulo) of a super Ferrari. The car is feasible, with few concessions, and recently a famous connoisseur and collector has shown interest in having one built for himself.

That would certainly be a dream of millions enthusiasts coming true and a fantastic promotional vehicle for a high-tech company.

End of this report by Giancarlo Perini ©.

Just 21 days ahead of the Auto Shanghai 2011 show, BMW has officially released the news concerning the very unique and amazingly fast M3 Pick-up developed by a task force in a very short period of time.

Considering the speed of the entire development, today I prefer to let the press-office tell you the entire story by reproducing here the full press release, issued just few hours ago.

Media Information 01 April 2011

Unique: BMW M GmbH develops the world’s fastest pickup. Drive and suspension technology from the BMW M3 – comprehensive testing completed on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife – 420 hp and 450 kg load capacity – world premiere on 1 April 2011.

Munich. Following the BMW M3 Coupé, BMW M3 Convertible and BMW M3 Sedan, a fourth body variant of this globally successful high-performance sports car is about to cause a stir. Under the strictest secrecy, the world’s first high-performance pickup has been created at the BMW M GmbH development centre. The sportiest example by far in this vehicle category, the BMW M3 Pickup will fire the imaginations of all motorists with a deep appreciation of top performance matched by a keen practical bent. 309 kW/420 hp under the bonnet and a rear-axle load capacity of up to 450 kilos take the hallmark BMW M relationship between race-oriented driving pleasure and everyday utility to an entirely new level. This unique vehicle has already completed extensive test and set-up drives on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife in advance of its global unveiling on 1 April 2011.

With this vehicle, BMW M GmbH once again furnishes evidence of its exceptional competence in developing and building high-grade, individual dream cars. With a high-revving V8 engine at the front, a generously sized load area behind and a removable Targa roof above, driver and passengers in the BMW M3 Pickup will relish an unprecedented take on the familiar M feeling. Yet this spectacular new development is unmistakably recognisable as a member of the BMW M3 model family. Corroborating this kinship are not just the inimitable power of the engine, but also fine-tuned aerodynamics and a tailored suspension set-up. Measurements in the wind tunnel at the BMW Group’s Aerodynamic Test Centre showed a Cd factor on a par with that of the BMW M3 Coupé. Like every BMW M model, the BMW M3 Pickup has also demonstrated its dynamic potential on the North Loop of the Nürburgring. Official lap times have not yet been released, but the needle in the dial vouched for a top speed of 300 km/h.

The kerb weight of the world’s fastest pickup undercuts that of the BMW M3 Convertible by around 50 kilograms. Removing the Targa roof shaves off a

further 20 kg while at the same time lowering the car’s centre of gravity. This most unusual experience of top-down driving pleasure in a BMW M3 thus goes hand in hand with further optimised dynamic handling.

The practical features of the BMW M3 Pickup are no less impressive. Maximum load capacity has been raised to 450 kilograms. The load bed of the BMW M3 Pickup is clad in high-grade structured aluminium sheeting and provides the biggest cargo capacity ever offered on a BMW M vehicle. In terms of the unit of measurement generally applied to premium automobiles, that gives the loading area of the BMW M3 Pickup the capacity to carry up to 20 standard 46-inch golf bags. What’s more, the BMW M3 Pickup is the first BMW M3 variant in the 25-year-plus history of this model range to come with a trailer tow hitch.

Notwithstanding these unquestionable stand-out qualities, the BMW M3 Pickup will not be heading for the golf course or series development, but will retain its status as an exclusive one-off. It is earmarked for use as a workshop transport vehicle for BMW M GmbH. With this in mind, the current BMW M3 Pickup – unlike a similar predecessor built back in the 1980s – has gone through the requisite procedures to earn its road certification. Which makes it officially a truck – but one that puts a whole new spin on the meaning of the word.

Are you bored of your Fiat 500? Is not enought agressive?

500 Marcia Corta is the answer for your cutie 500.

In the era we live in where the design is a important item on every car, even the smallest,  you can ensure that the level of customizing a car is such that you can significantly alter the character and the final appearance of  your vehicle.

In a jungle of body kits that range from exhaust to ugly spoilers , check out a kit with a strong  and sporty taste, capable of radically transforming the look of the most common of modern cars, Kit “500 Marcia Corta” .

Designed by CAMAL (http://www.camalstudio.com/) , design & 3D modelling study in Torino, this work aims to find consent form the enthusiasts and new investors to bring it to the road, the final price at  the  moment is unknown.

Got Enough ? no !

Let’s follow the link for more tasty shots of the body kit: www.500-marcia-corta.com

By Giancarlo Perini ©

There is more than just a beautiful body to make the Jaguar EX-75 concept car the “Star of the Show”. It comes with four 143 kW electric motors (one for each wheel) pumping out a total of 572 kW, which take the energy from a energy-intense pack of lithium-ion batteries to be recharged from a standard 220v outlet.

But what makes the difference is that this Jaguar also comes with two small gas turbines, each delivering 70 kW, that recharge the battery pack (good for some 100 km) before it is exhausted. The two turbines run on petrol, diesel or ethanol fuel and with a full tank they extend the range to a total of some 900 km (560 miles).

“The aim was to produce not only the most innovative but also one of the most beautiful Jaguars ever; the concept points the way towards an even more emotive design language which combines beautiful contemporary styling with world-class research and engineering. The design hints at an exciting evolution of the brand award-winning design language while paying homage to some of its most admired cars of years gone by.”  Says Ian Callum, director of design.

According to Jaguar, with an overall weight of some 1350 kg  (2,970lbs) the C-X75 can go from zero to almost 100 km (0-62mph) in just 3.4 seconds and from there onto a top speed of some 330 kph (205 mph).

Well  informed sources at Jaguar say the Tata owned British company is looking into the feasibility of a production run of 1 to 2 thousand units per year. If the business case will get approval production would start seven years from now.

“We’re talking two-to-three years for implementation of the gas turbine technology, then another three-to-four years to integrate into a vehicle,” said Jaguar’s head of advanced powertrains Tony Harper. “There’s much less to go wrong; there are about 100 times fewer parts in a gas turbine than an internal combustion engine.”

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

by Enrico Leonardo Fagone.

“The automobile today is an individual means of transport within a complex system of collective transport. The relations within such a system can­not be ignored. The individual means of transport has to submit to the constraints imposed by the system. This implies a form of transport that fulfils certain fun­ctions: hence a functional vehicle. The designers of car bodies are clearly faced with new structures, new tasks: scienti­fic and technological evolution is a stimu­lus but at the same time a warning not to remain anchored to the positions of the past and present.” (Pio Manzù)

More than 40 years ago a young Italian designer, Pio Manzù, outlined the needs and guidelines for an harmonius development of individual mobility with a system of private and public transport. Four decades later his vision has not been implemented yet. It was not his fault. Arch. Enrico Leonardo Fagone, has presented his lecture on Pio Manzù and has agreed to share it with us. I am sure you will not miss a single line of his presentation. Giancarlo Perini.

PIO MANZU’ PIONEER OF CAR AND TRANSPORTATION DESIGN.

In the world of design, and car design in particular, many still remember the contribution of Pio Manzù, a young designer with an international trai­ning who died in a car accident in May 1969.

The son of the famous sculptor Giacomo Manzù,  Pio Manzoni (Manzù) was born in 1939 in Bergamo and after high school in Italy, he joined the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm.

The school, founded by Max Bill, gave a new relevance to the teachings and methods of the Bauhaus. Before graduation, together with classmates Michael Conrad and Henner Werner, the young Manzù won a prestigious international competition held by the Année Automobile. The prize consisted in the execution of their own design (based on the bones of the Austin Healey 3000 mechanicals) to be built by Pininfarina in 1962. The prototyped was first exhibited that year at the London Motor Show.

Pio Manzù is famous not only for having designed one of the most successful models ever in the history of the Italian auto industry (The Fiat 127) but also for his works on a number of prototypes and research vehicles which were highly innovative, both formally and technically.

Examples are the NSU – Autonova GT and Fam, the Autobianchi Coupé (with the body made wholly of synthetic materials) and the City-Taxi built for Fiat in 1968.

Pio Manzù always sought to back up his design work with critical reflection. He contributed to the magazine “Style Auto” and his creative commitment was never separated from broader consideration of the issues of mobility and the function of design. Despite the importance of his role and contribution in car design world, his projects and realization are for the most unpublished.

Studying in Ulm.

The Hochschule für Gestaltung Ulm, an international centre for teaching, developing and carrying out research on industrial production and communications, according to the official definition, is historically consi­dered, together with the Bauhaus, one of the main institutions for studying design disciplines. Enrolled at the School in Ulm in 1960, Pio Manzù was the first Italian student to graduate from the department “Produktgestaltung” (industrial design) as well as a major player within the debate that was animating the well-known German school. That is on both the teaching themes and programmes, and the prominent part taken by the institution in the world of design.

Commenting on the training programmes of the School, Pio Manzù used to emphasize that the “Abteilung Produktgestaltung”, to which he belonged, was aimed at training “Gestalter”, namely creative people who were meant to design daily products, objects and faci­lities for public services, traffic and applied sciences, while meeting technical/manufacturing and technical/administrative requirements. “Design – said Pio Manzù – concerns systems of products rather than isolated, independent products “.

He graduated in 1965, with a “Design for an 80 hp trac­tor” project, accompanied by an exhaustive study of technical and ergonomic problems. The project was the result of reflection on how farm machines worked and were used, and on the building technologies that were usually implemented. He proved to be one of the most active students at the school.

However, the course on car design, which Rodolfo Bonetto held at the HFG between 1962 and 1965, is considered one of the main contributions of the school in Ulm for Pio Manzù’s training. The work by Pio Manzù – as well as that of other young students at the HFG – was positively influen­ced by the events taking place in Ulm over his years’ training, while significantly helping develop Italian design, which was connected with an active professional approach based on rigorous technical and executive training as justifying designers’ crea­tive contributions and role.

The car as a social dimension and performance of use: projects and prototypes

One of the most interesting aspects of Pio Manzù work is his constant testing of the compati­bility of the dimensions of the automobile, even more than its form and technology with the urban context and its environs. This can be seen in his numerous studies for a compact city cars (Stadtwagen), in a series of projects for “minimal” three and four wheel vehicles designed for Piaggio as well as the prototypes of parking meters made for a program in which the automobile and other means of transport were conceived as part of a complex system of mobility and infra­structures.

The projects conceived by Pio Manzù therefore extended the possibility of intervention to the scale of public transport (reflected in the buses he designed on Magirus- Deutz mechanicals in 1967 as well as a number of studies for locomotives). He explored the spatial and architectural extension of the city and the various objects that compose it, in an unceasing effort to redress the balance bet­ween its ergonomic and formal qualities.

The working method learned in Ulm enabled Pio Manzù to identify important links between the design of the object and the gra­phic system and form of communication correlated with the automotive world. This appears in his pro­jects not only in his lucid drawings, in which the handling is given the task of developing surfaces and details of photo­graphic precision. It also appears in the way he clarified the formal and functional features of the instrumentation or han­dles and in the representations of the technical features, organized descriptively in the materials that accompanied the launch of new prototypes and models, prepared for display to the public at pre­sentations and at major motor shows.

His training in Ulm probably fostered the interest and sensibility he always displa­yed in these aspects of design. Working on the surfaces of the automobile, on its lines and the forms of individual details, meant not just dealing with forms but also working on strictly technical and constructional problems. He checked every hypothesis in terms of its industrial feasibility and the processes involved in manufacturing the product, the problem defining or redefining the identity of a brand, the transfer and revival of the values that expressed its image and the structure of its products. Pio Manzù continuously applies the experiences developed in the depart­ment of visual communications (Abteilung Visuelle Kommunikation) in the HFG.

From individual mobility to transportation design

The interest and sensitivity Pio Manzù had always been shown to have in these aspects of design may also have derived from his studies in Ulm. However, changing the appearance of a car, its shape and the design of its individual parts meant to Pio Manzù working at a formal level as well as at a strictly technical one. Every single solu­tion was tested both for its industrial feasibility and in relation to the manufacturing processes required for the object, compared to the problem of defining or redefining the identity of a brand, transferring and changing any values having an impact on the image and the appearance of its products. Pio Manzù always backed up his work as a designer with critical reflection, and in this respect, his achievement is an essential point of reference.

In one of his last writings, he emphasized: “The automobile today is an individual means of transport within a complex system of collective transport. The relations within such a system can­not be ignored. The individual means of transport has to submit to the constraints imposed by the system. This implies a form of transport that fulfils certain fun­ctions: hence a functional vehicle. The designers of car bodies are clearly faced with new structures, new tasks: scienti­fic and technological evolution is a stimu­lus but at the same time a warning not to remain anchored to the positions of the past and present.”. This was perhaps an encouragement to enter the far from easy profession of the car designer, and at the same time an observation which today has the value of a prophecy fulfil­led.

Pio Manzù anticipated the main lines of development in the automobile indu­stry over the following decades. He stressed the need to allow recreational and sporting uses of the automobile, which exalt sophistication and technologi­cal efficiency, to coexist with a more widespread and rational flexibility in its use. This point is still relevant today, as appears in the need to expand the system of mobility while combining it with environmental safeguards.

The Austin Healey 3000 prototype

While still a student, Pio Manzù had a chance to express his design interests in the International Competition organized by the magazine “Année Automobile” of Lausanne, marking its tenth anniversary in 1963. With two school-mates, Manzù won it with a prototype on Austin Healey 3000 mechanicals, built by the Carrozzeria Pininfarina and exhibited the same year at the Turin and London Motor Shows.

In an article published in 1964 (Style Auto” n. 3), commenting on the principles that guided the design of Austin Healey 3000 (winner of the prestigious international competition launched by the editors of L’Année Automobile)  Manzù wrote: “We’re at a crossroads. Either we go on with largely stylistic studies and so slide into pure fashion (in which the Americans are far ahead of us), or else we take a new path, as suggested by traffic conditions and needs in Europe.” This famous warning, a response to the redesign and styling operations which were a rampant feature of international car production in the mid-sixties, especially in America, partly explains his approach to design. He wanted to develop original types of vehicles and at the same time to endow them with functions and performance that would respond more closely to their real conditions of use.

The adoption of new materials in the manufacture of individual components of the body, research into systems for covering the underbody and large apertures to allow the doors and hood to open wide all testify to his continuous research, combining in equal measure technical features, formal values and specifications of use.

The Autonova project

These two prototypes, Autonova GT (1964) and Autonova Fam (1965), represented two different types of automobiles, but they revealed a unified conception of the car as a product, including its forms. Both were relevant to contemporary needs: “cars for the present, not the past, designed for society and traffic today,” wrote Manzù and Conrad in the detailed manuals presenting them to the press. Together they interpreted the needs of users who wanted practical, functional cars, capable of coping with the changed conditions of urban and extra-urban traffic. At the same time, they appealed to people who appreciated a class of automobiles like the small sports car, normally regarded as elitist and unaffordable.

Autonova was the name chosen by Pio Manzù, Fritz B. Busch and Michael Conrad for their new design team. They had a detailed plan to supply the automobile industry with a complete design service, covering the research and development of new products from the initial scope of the projects down to production of working prototypes. Autonova began work in 1964 by collaborating with a group of German manufacturers. They included NSU-Werke, who financed the Autonova GT project, the Veith-Pirelli company, backers of the Autonova Fam project, Glas (for the production of the car’s mechanicals and its assembly), Recaro (for the seats), VDO (for the instruments on board) and BASF (which supplied the plastics). Within a year, the Carrozzeria Sibona & Basano in Turin had built two prototypes with distinctive features reflecting two quite different types of motor vehicle.

The Autonova GT

The Autonova GT, exhibited for the first time in public at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1964, was a compact Gran Turismo (3750 mm long, 1550 mm wide and 1200 mm high). It was built on the platform and mechanicals of the standard NSU Prinz 1000 TT, with a rear-mounted 1085 cc engine producing 55 HP. The spare lines of the profile of the body converged at the front in an original appendage to the nose, which served the twofold function of a bumper and a fascia uniting the surfaces of the low, elongated engine hood. However, perhaps the most original feature of the car was the aerodynamic design of the flanks, enhanced by a truncated integral rear end with a window that could be opened (unusual in a fastback body type). Also distinctive was the arrangement of the headlights.

Their protruding outlines were dictated not only by functional constructional criteria but also by practical considerations, because they helped give the driver a sense of the car’s volumes.

The interior was notable for the austere design of the bucket seats, the central tunnel housing the gearshift and other principal switches and levers, and the door panels equipped with tubular armrests of an original design. In this car Pio Manzù and Michael Conrad sought to rethink critically the

stylistic currents of the day, which Manzù regarded as stuck with a sort of “formal catechism” and incapable of moving beyond their established schemes.

The Autonova Fam

The Autonova Fam contributed new ideas and offered a possible solution to the increasingly urgent problems of traffic. It was designed as a universal automobile, meeting the very different needs involved in transporting people and things, intended mainly for urban traffic but also practical in extra-urban driving.

Reflecting the guidelines of the Autonova project, the Fam (a contraction of familiare, i.e. a station wagon) was intended to be versatile, “logical in every detail”, as Pio Manzù and Michael Conrad were careful to note, a car for the community. It was compact outside (3.5 meters long and 1.6 wide) but offered plenty of room inside. This was achieved by making the most of the height, 1600 mm. The engine hood and trunk were absorbed into a single volume with a trapezoidal form.

The cabin was lined with large windows and accommodated up to five passengers.

It could be adapted to take different kinds of loads since all the seats were independent and the backs folded over. The raised driving position and height off the ground were considered significant factors making for comfort and safety on board.

The technical features of the Autonova Fam anticipated certain ideas that have only recently been adopted on a large scale by the automobile industry. They included automatic electro hydraulic transmission, height adjustable suspension and progressive action steering.

Of the Autonova’s numerous functional and technical-constructional features, the most striking were its rigorous formal synthesis, the simple, “modern” design of its different parts, from the lines that unite or segment the different sections of the body down to individual details like handles and switches and the most minute seams and welds.

Both the Autonova prototypes are still surprising for their originality and coherence, even after this lapse of time. Pio Manzù and Michael Conrad’s project can still be seen as an exemplary contribution to the evolution of the automobile and car design, not only because of the results they achieved but also in terms of method and the development of radically innovative contents.

Pio Manzù and Fiat

While the research that went into the Autonova enabled Manzù to explore new methods of design and work out a different conception of the automobile as a product, his collaboration with Fiat meant he had to cope with the various kinds of logic governing product development in a major car manufacturer.

Manzù defined the design and overall volumes of the 127. The general approach to the project, with a front-mounted engine and front wheel drive, ensured the car would have plenty of space for transport and baggage (five passengers and a trunk with a capacity of 350 litres), and set it new standards of roominess inside.

The studies that brought Pio Manzù to conceive the innovative 127 project were preceded by a phase of research in which he theorized a different layout for the mechanicals. His idea was to provide the cabin with more user space while redesigning the body, passing from the traditional three volumes to the more advanced fastback and two-volume configuration.

The 127 proved to be one of the biggest successes in Fiat’s history, a landmark of the Italian auto industry and a significant influence on production worldwide.

From City Taxi to Autobianchi Coupé

The City Taxi project start from an analysis of the conditions of urban traffic and the practical qualities of a public vehicle, he identified a set of basic requirements. It would have to be as compact as possible (but with a favourable ratio between overall volume and cabin space), offer good visibility, and at the same time be accessible, manageable, safe and easily recognized. The prototype built in 1968 was presented to the public at the Turin Motor Show. Produced by Fiat’s Centro Stile, on the platform and mechanicals of the mass produced 850 Special Idroconvert (equipped with semi-automatic gearbox and torque converter), it had a body with reduced overhang and asymmetrical sides. Its dimensions were: overall length 3250 mm, width 1450 mm, height 1600 mm. It had a large sliding door on the right giving access to the passenger seat and a normal sized door was provided for the driver.

It incorporated numerous innovative ideas: an extra tilt-up seat next to the driver; a system of straps to fix the luggage on the roof rack; a pocket for holding maps embedded in the roof; a padded deformable dashboard with built-in radio-telephone and taxi meter; a windshield wiper with a double arm structure and vertical blade; a forced ventilation system and adjustable steering column. The prototype built had original and conspicuous orange paintwork. The City Taxi remains one of the first cars specially designed to transport passengers and luggage in an urban context.

Manzù’s research into new appliances and technical solutions, which began with the City Taxi, was paralleled by his studies of sports cars. He developed two projects that both went as far as the construction of complete models but without the mechanicals.

The Autobianchi stand at the 1968 Turin Motor Show exhibited the study for a car with two-door coachwork and a centrally mounted engine. This was the Autobianchi Coupe with a polyester body, distinguished from the second study, called Autobianchi 111, by certain details in the design of the body, divided in both cases into four different sections: the first included the radiator, headlights and battery; the second the luggage compartment under the hood in front; the third contained the cabin; and the fourth section housed the engine, the principal mechanicals and the fuel tank.

The care shown in the choice of the materials used for the body was not the only outstanding feature of the two cars. Both the 111 and the Coupe re-launched the idea for a sports car that could be produced cheaply, with an attractively designed body and a rational yet forward-looking treatment the interior.

(Copyright – Enrico Leonardo Fagone)