Auto Design

According to some reports, Stile Bertone has stated that it plans to accept up to ten orders for their Corvette ZR1 Mantide “one off”, each carrying a price tage of 2 million dollars. That is some 1.6 million euros, just 0.1m euros higher than the price Jason Castriota mentioned when I talked to him at the Villa d’Este Concorso a couple of weeks ago. The add-on is probably the price of the full-optional ZR1 serving as the starting point for their job. Read the rest of this entry »

The Concorso d’Eleganza di Villa d’Este this years has been as good as the weather. That is to say that half of it was very good, with peaks of excellence, and the remaining half was bad, raining and boring, with touches of ugliness.

 By the end of the elegant week-end on the Lake of Como, one would say it was not one the best edition ever but still offered enough interesting cars to look at, people to greet and talk to, and subjects to discuss.

As such it was one not to be missed. Those who did not attend it missed the extremely rare chance of hearing the sibilo and smelling the pollution of its turbine engine, not to mention seeing this extraordinary visualisation of the dreams about the cars of the future they were dreaming in the fifties and sixties.

  Read the rest of this entry »

The new Ferrari California attracted enthusiastic attention wherever it has been presented so far. How could it be otherwise? The California is two supercars in one but its development required more than twice the commitment that every new Ferrari commands. Yet, its design has been the most challenging task in years. Read the rest of this entry »

I.de.a. Institute Era for the Geneva Motor Show.

 All mouths are kept shout in Turin about what the Italian coachbuilder will be showing at the Geneva Motor Show, early next month, but it is already clear that Fioravanti, Italdesign and Zagato will be showing a world-première whereas Idea and Pininfarina will be displaying something “deja vu” but further developed. Pininfarina will take its ultimate development of the Bolloré Zero electric four door, four seater, all-round-city- sedan in new colour scheme and with a more sophisticated interior design. Read the rest of this entry »

The American congress will have to say yes to the rescue of the American car industry. If not under the Bush administration, if will happen after Barack Obama replaces him at the White House.

Their 14 billion dollars “helping hand” is mainly going to save General Motor from bankruptcy and perhaps give some support to Chrysler (which will likely be the first victim of the current hurricane). Ford, for the time being, is resisting on its own as an independent company to maintain respect and credibility. It would just be happy with a favourable “credit line”, which is all right. If it happens, the sale of Volvo will give them additional breath and reach.

The government might eventually take a 20% stake into GM and become the largest (and ruling) shareholder. In addition the USA government is appointing a “Czar” to supervise the development of the American car industry, according to a policy that will give priority to the benefits of the nation, its environment, its economy at large, rather than short term profits for the management (first) and the shareholder (next). The top executives will see their unrealistic salary drastically cut. If they are allowed to keep their jobs.

Executives will see no bonus until their company (and the industry at large is well on its feet again) and shareholders may forget their dividends for a while. Read the rest of this entry »

In Singapore, late last month, the Pininfarina Sintesi concept-car unveiled last March at the Geneva Motor Show has been selected for “Red dot Award” among a selection of 1900 design concepts from 48 Nations.

The Pininfarina Concept-car has been elected for its innovative technology and Pininfarina vision of the car of the future. The international jury quoted: “for the excellent quality of its design and the outstanding innovation of its technological content”. 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”.

It has been a long way.

It has been a long and twisting road to reach the actual design of the California, as we have seen it at the Paris Motor Show. If it were so easy to create a stunning Ferrari by Pininfarina, the world would be fully of look-alikes.

It has never been easy to design a Ferrari, despite the fantastic simplicity of its shapes. Indeed the simpler and dynamic the shape, the more difficult it is. Not to mention the fundamental issue of the overall proportions of any Ferrari. As we now see the California, we can understand why the designers’ job this time has been more difficult than ever: they had to design two Ferraris in one and they had to fight with the heavy restrains of it overall dimensions and – even more demanding – the proportions established by its main design feature: the retractable hard top. Read the rest of this entry »

Going to an international motor show is like going to the annual market. You meet a lot of friends and people, see many things and you come back home with the head full of information, impressions, news, comments and opinions. So much so that indeed you need a few days to arrange everything in some sort of order so that you get to the essence of the experience. This is all the same and yet all different every time. And I am not just talking of the cars.

As for cars, new cars I mean, I have come home with an incredible load of pictures and information.

I would have to share them all with you the very moment I sat back to my PC last Saturday but this is simply impossible. It takes a lot of time to put a label and classify more than 2000 images.

Now, having done just that I can start sharing with you some of the most significant. Or at least some that I image you want to see as soon as possible.

This is why, at this time I am offering you a series of photo galleries to look at. What you see is a combination of images shot at the Paris “Mondial de l’Automobile” and images provided by the press offices and design studio of the car makers.

I am giving priority to the latter ones, as the most attractive and unique.

Related information and comments will be posted shortly. Click on images below to access their photo gallery.

Not to be missed.

Never before I have seen so many dream and concept cars in the same place ad the same time. This unique opportunity is offered by Torino 2008 World Design Capital and you must visit it before it closes on November 23.

For all details and a comprehensive introduction, go to http://www.torinoworlddesigncapital.it/portale/en/content_1.php?sezioneID=291&testoCompleto=1

Beware and please do not shoot the messenger: strangely enough, the exhibition closes at 6.20 p.m.

You also should not miss to get a copy of the Exhibition Catalogue currently on sale only in Italian but soon to be available also in English. Read the rest of this entry »