Table of contents for 273 in AUTO & DESIGN

“All Ferraris are special, but this one is more Special than the rest,” quips Flavio Manzoni, Chief Design Officer at Ferrari, with a playful nod to the name of the newest creation to come out of the Maranello design centre. And it’s no coincidence it’s called the 296 Speciale, the most powerful, exclusive and lightweight evolution of the 296 GTB we have seen since it debuted in 2021. Just one glance is enough to appreciate how much effort has been poured into this model by Ferrari’s technicians, engineers and designers: “We wanted the most fun car Ferrari has ever built”, says Enrico Galliera, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Ferrari, at the model's unveiling in Maranello. To achieve this, Ferrari put the 296 Speciale on a strict weight-loss programme, shedding…

A life in car design seeking “to establish the right balance between creativity and precision”. Laurens van den Acker is Chief Design Officer of Renault Group, and under his management the French group’s style department has created incredible concept cars – the remarkable futuristic TreZor of 2016 – bestsellers like the Captur crossover, and also given new life with his team to icons of the past such as R5 and R4. What are your reference objects in the world of design? “I started off as a student of industrial design because at the time, in Holland, where I was born, there wasn’t a school entirely dedicated to car design”. I grew up going to the Salone del Mobile in Milan and Philippe Starck was one of the designers that struck…

It is the first Volvo to employ 800-volt technology, it is defined by software to continue evolving over time, and it is equipped with a dual Nvidia Drive AGX Orin configuration that enables exceptional computing capacity to control the most advanced active safety functions based on artificial intelligence, onboard sensors, and efficient battery management. Such a level of high technology obviously needed to be incorporated into a car designed for humans, with a welcoming and relaxing passenger compartment like a Scandinavian domestic environment – a field in which Volvo designers are masters – and an exterior that is out of the ordinary in terms of architecture and proportions. “There’s this idea of creating a category of its own, taking the practicality of an SUV, the elegance of a saloon, the…

Design plays a key role in promoting the uptake of new ideas, and several recent examples from the worlds of product and furniture design confirm an intriguing trend - one that, to some extent, synthesises and extends years of ongoing reflection and experiment. The dominant trend - as far as both household and personal design are concerned - is a holistic concept of well-being flowing between individuals and their living space. The vision is a radical one, with designers even exploring how to improve the quality of our rest through devices that are neither furniture nor clothing, but rather sophisticated tech-integrated objects designed for us to interact with. This emerging niche category, known as “comfort tech”, has grown steadily in recent years and reflects a broader rethinking of the home…

“SENSORIA” by Manfredi Amata, Rachele Bucella, Andrea Piani, Elisa Soleri A new concept of Explorer between tradition and innovation. The third-year Transportation Design students at IED Turin started from this concept to create their yachts, as part of their thesis project in collaboration with Francesco Paszkowski Design. The studio has been designing boats of all types and sizes that sail the seas around the world for over three decades, receiving many awards and international recognition. The projects born from Francesco Paszkowski’s drawing board (he will be featured in a dedicated interview in the next issue of Auto&Design), whether one-offs, production models, or refitting projects -custom builds for shipowners or destined for shipyards – offer architectural solutions for exteriors, interiors, and décor with bespoke furnishing complements and lighting design studies. “After…

The most seriously American brand in the Stellantis portfolio, Jeep has become a symbol of cross-continental collaboration, linking the automotive powerhouses of Detroit and Turin in a unique design partnership. This is why Ralph Gilles, Stellantis Chief Design Officer for North America, describes the new Jeep Compass as an “Italian story”. “Our teams talk to each on practically a daily basis, and in Turin they had already done a top class job on the Avenger”, he says, referring to the 2020 restyling. “The Compass is a global model, but its success in Europe has been astonishing. So it made perfect sense to entrust the entire third generation project to Daniele's team. It had to be designed on a European platform, something they know all about and which they could leverage…

After 7 years the time had come to give new life to the Nexo, Hyundai's hydrogen fuel cell car: “Giving it an SUV interior where before there was an inflated hatchback -explains Simon Loasby -, with more space for passengers and luggage, greater ground clearance, a more utilitarian character, in short, increasing its volume of SUVness.” But this is not the only story of this second generation of hydrogen cars born in Namyang, because - Loasby continues – “with Nexo, Hyundai's new design language makes its appearance, destined to characterize all future models.” It is called Art of Steel, a design solution that “celebrates the basic material of the car-product, in a world where many cars, too many perhaps, look like plastic.” Loasby is responsible for Hyundai styling, right-hand man…

“Radiantly pure, precious as a pearl”. It is no coincidence that the SAIC brand Roewe has named its latest concept car, a luxury super saloon with a commanding but elegant design, the Pearl. The model was unveiled at the latest Shanghai Auto Show to showcase Roewe's interpretation of the future of luxury mobility. “Underlying this car is a new philosophy that blends perfectly with our brand: during their travels or daily commutes, every individual and every family should always feel elegant and pampered by the unparalleled comfort of our cars”, said Jozef Kaban, Vice President of SAIC Design. The showcar has a completely closed front end – anticipating the adoption of a 100% electric powertrain – to enhance aerodynamics, inlaid with a LED lighting strip combined with the Roewe logo…

In the bustle of the latest vibrant Milan Design Week, the innovative potential of Cupra, the Spain’s most exuberant brand unfolds fully along two directions. First, the automobile (or a portion of it) presented through an emotional lens, with only fleeting hints of functionality. Immediately alongside, in perfect complementarity, a proposal of possible objects for everyday use that both draw from and contribute content to the originating discourse of the four wheels. An exploration, therefore, aimed at including previously uncharted territories. “This is certainly a perfect opportunity to illustrate our most recent journey,” comments Francesca Sangalli, head of creativity at Cupra Design House, during an interview in a sort of large, irregular black seashell set up amongst the streets of Brera. In one corner, the console of an experimental cockpit…

È il più americano dei marchi della galassia Stellantis, Jeep, a legare con un filo diretto due città dell’automobile come Torino e Detroit in una simbiosi progettuale ideale. Per questo Ralph Gilles, Chief Design Officer Stellantis per il Nord America, definisce la nuova Compass una “storia italiana”. «I nostri team si parlano praticamente ogni giorno e a Torino avevano già fatto un ottimo lavoro sulla Avenger», spiega riferendosi al restyling del 2020. «La Compass è un modello globale, ma il suo successo in Europa è stupefacente. Per questa terza generazione è stato quindi naturale affidare l’intero progetto al team di Daniele. Andava concepita su una piattaforma europea, che loro conoscono bene e che volevamo sfruttare al meglio». Daniele è Daniele Calonaci, capo di Jeep Design per l’Europa, e la piattaforma su…

Over fifty years of tactile attraction, versatility and refinement. A seamless succession of surfaces where the fingers find delight with even the most fleeting of touches. Once a staple of fashion and subsequently a hallmark of the world’s most prestigious car interiors. A lasting celebration of the senses. We speak with Eugenio Lolli, CEO and Chairman of Alcantara, and the excellence of the material emerges in its purest form: “I asked the company to start all over from the material’s sensory qualities, from how beautiful it is to see and touch, from the unique qualities that define it”. A statement that is anything but trivial but one that strikes like a ray of authenticity at the end of a kaleidoscope of applications. Such as its use in the Italian Pavilion…

The challenge in Europe’s biggest segment, compact SUVs and crossovers, is to stand out from the crowd. Citroën’s second-generation C5 Aircross is aimed at buyers who know what they want: A comfortable, stylish space for their family. Everything about the C5 Aircross, which moves to Stellantis’s STLA Medium platform and will have full-electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid powertrains, has been optimized for family travel, said Citroën’s head of design, Pierre Leclerq. “We wanted, first of all, to have proportions that looked very much like a family vehicle,” Leclerq said, adding that there was no intent to do a coupe-style roofline. The roofline, in fact, is just the opposite: It rises to just beyond the rear doors, then gently descends to an upright tailgate. This gives rear seat passengers more…

Cross-disciplinary, fusiondriven. Christian Grande and his studio navigate seamlessly between architecture and lifestyle, from product design to superyachts. In this latter sector, he has carved out an important niche for himself through his collaboration with leading brands such as Cranchi, Sacs, Invictus, Capoforte and Besenzoni. Founded in 1992 and based in Parma, the studio reflects Christian Grande’s great passion, as well as deep expertise, for the automotive world. It is no surprise then that he has often created intriguing connections between yacht and car design. One of his latest creations - the Cranchi Sessantasette 67 Corsa – an evolution of the 21metre flybridge launched by the Italian shipyard in 2022, is a prime example. As the name suggests, the new version is sportier. The most striking change is the redesigned…