Innehållsförteckning för No. 170 från AUTO & DESIGN

For many in the automobile industry, Geneva is the best-liked of all motor shows. It is annual, it is in neutral territory so far as manufacturers are concerned, and it comes at a nice time of the year, with Spring in the air. Swiss neutrality attracts a wide range of industry executives, and often there are important product introductions. With the demise of the Torino show (and that of the once-flourishing Italian coachbuilding industry), Geneva has become the de facto Italian motor show, so there are usually at least three concept cars from the major design houses. Mired in an internecine family feud, Bertone was not present for the first time in more than half a century, although a B.A.T. 11 concept does exist that should have been presented. Both…

Immediately after the debut of the Delta HPE ‘concept’ during the Venice Film Festival in September 2006 at Venice’s La Fenice theatre, Lancia’s designers vowed to do their utmost to ensure that the car’s style, which also impressed the public at the Paris motor show a few weeks later, would be carried over undiluted into the production model. Now that the production Delta has been officially launched at Geneva, the designers can truly claim that they have succeeded in their mission. The design and proportions have been retained, and the car still conveys an impression of a large sized hatchback (at 4.5 metres in length) but with a compact feel and dynamic volume treatment, with a marked wedge shape to the side that ends in a chunky C pillar and…

The most difficult thing for a coachbuilder, explains Andrea Zagato, is getting the brand. In other words, convincing a carmaker to let you radically mutate the identity of one of its models while leaving it with the same name. While this is true for the many studios bringing anonymously named cars to shows like Geneva which were originally Porsches, BMWs or Mercedes Benzes, this certainly isn’t the case for his company which, with over 89 years of building prestigious models under its belt, has earned a rightful place alongside the most illustrious marques in the history of the car. In fact, with the Bentley GTZ – Zagato’s first venture with the celebrated English marque – the exact opposite actually happened. The idea was suggested by Bentley Motors president Franz-Josef Paefgen…

“This is a Volvo the way I want it to be. A Volvo all my own, if you will.” Steve Mattin is categorical – according to the designer, the XC60 presented at Geneva just over a year after the concept’s debut at Detroit, shows the new face of the Swedish brand and is also an expression of his own personal vision, as, two and a half years after his appointment as head of design, this is the first model introducing his design philosophy. Fredrik Arp, president and CEO of Volvo Cars, is quick to say that “it’s not only the safest Volvo ever. If you ask me, it’s also the most stunning”. This may be a bold claim, but the challenge the car faces is daunting. The XC60 fits into…

“The Bocanegra is to the next Ibiza what Superman is to Clark Kent” quips Luc Donckerwolke at the stand at Geneva, next to a ‘concept car’ that looks to all intents and purposes like a production ready model. Superman, however, is a superhero without a black mask, while this prototype owes its name to the black insert at the front, partially concealing the features of the future production car. This is not just a show car gimmick, however, but a reference, and the ‘black mouth’ has appeared on a number of Seat’s historic models. “As soon as I arrived at Martorell, the first thing I did was research the icons of the brand”, says Donckerwolke, who was appointed head of the Spanish marque’s style centre in 2005 with the precise…

CITROËN C5 Surprise at the wheel The first impression upon getting into Citroën’s new C5 (design story in A&D No. 169) is one of surprise – turn the steering wheel and you’ll discover that the boss remains fixed. This solution, which has already proven its worth in the C4, keeps the control buttons in the same place at all times for easier access. The driver can now operate the cruise control, on-board computer and radio or even make phone calls without taking his or her hands off the wheel. Then you notice that you are in a quality cabin, with premium materials and attention to detail, and the almost infinitely adjustable driver seat, letting you find the perfect position. It’s when you get onto the road, however, that you really…

The nomadic nature – whether real or supposed – that has become a part of the professional lives of many people in recent years has turned the common or garden briefcase from a simple accessory into something much more evolved, providing support in the daily commute and even transforming, when necessary, into an impromptu desk. This is the case with the PocketTop computer bag by the American manufacturer Belkin. This polyurethane bag is not just a folder holding the laptop, but can also be used as a temporary work surface when on the move or at home, and has special compartments for storing the transformer and mouse. Similarly, By my side is a range of bags designed by Alfredo Häberli for Colin’s, conceived for users who are constantly on the…

After the Geneva Show, two significant debuts are on the cards over the forthcoming months, both of them B segment models with sports pretensions: the Alfa Romeo Mito and the new Seat Ibiza (in the photos below). The Mito is an all new model inspired by the legendary Junior. The car is based on the Fiat Grande Punto platform and will be built in Turin, while the design, with cues reminiscent of the 8C coupé, was defined by the Alfa Romeo design centre in Arese. The Ibiza was previewed at Geneva in concept guise (see the Bocanegra design story on page 66) and debuts at Madrid as the 5 door version, while the 3 door variant will be presented at Paris in September. Read all about it in the cover…

White though it is, his hair is just as thick as ever and, although a little portlier around the waist, the man has retained the same distinctive charm and elegance. Forty years after the first design to bear his name, Giorgetto Giugiaro is as enthusiastic as always and eager to unveil his latest creation. Today, however, he does so together with his son Fabrizio Giugiaro, who now manages the company founded four decades ago. The event, held at the last Geneva motor show, was called ‘Quaranta’. How do you go about developing a prototype to celebrate Italdesign’s fortieth anniversary? What theme best represents forty years of innovation and forty years of creativity in style and architecture, embracing all forms of the car, from the city car to the GT? These…

Fioravanti does not like to be boxed in by the mere term ‘stylist’, and he is universally recognised as a designer in the broadest sense of the word. For many years this engineering graduate has, alongside form, also studied the future of the motor car. He is used to working with long time frames, such as the sixteen years between registering his patent for an intelligent tyre (1994) and its industrial production (Pirelli has announced that it will start manufacturing it in 2010). With the Hidra, presented as a static model at the last Geneva show, Leonardo Fioravanti is also dealing with long time scales, albeit not quite so long, as, with the exception of its graceful styling – it is the second study in a mini-series dedicated to fuel…

The Scirocco, presented at Geneva by Volkswagen, has two missions: on the one hand, it aims to rekindle the success of the original 1970s coupé, reinterpreting, in a modern key, the compactness, agility, space and frugality that defined the fortunes of the little car in which Giorgetto Giugiaro encapsulated the zeitgeist of the times; while on the other, it paves the way for what VW design chief Walter de’ Silva calls “a new path”, which will be followed by the imminent new Golf, the Polo and other models. However, the Scirocco is also the outward sign of a small revolution as in January 2007, when de’ Silva was appointed alongside Flavio Manzoni as director of creative design, the style of the Scirocco had already been “frozen”, and numerous dies already…

Aconcept? No, this is much more than that. Renault design chief Patrick Le Quément is clear: “This is actually a show car. It’s a concept when there’s a new idea, something completely separate from production. In a show car, however, we have something based on a production car that will be launched within the next few months”. The car in question is the Mégane Coupé presented at Geneva with all the glitz of a proper show car and a preview of not just the production model, which should debut this autumn at Paris, but of a whole new generation of Renaults, with more flowing, sportier lines, as already illustrated to some extent by the New Laguna. In an automotive industry that is reinventing itself and, above all, its formal language,…

The use of glass blocks for construction purposes first enjoyed popularity between the two World Wars, when rationalist architects began experimenting with the material’s aesthetic and functional qualities. This industrially produced building block in its own right was relaunched in a new guise in 2001 by the leading international manufacturer Seves Glassblock as part of a new personalised made-to-specifications service. In particular, the company collaborated with the architect Renzo Piano to create the Q42 Pegasus series of special square glass blocks for the Maison Hermès building in Tokyo’s Ginza district. In addition to featuring lugs designed to conceal the joints between blocks, these oversized blocks are treated with a special mirror coating, giving them a silvered effect. A further development in the project is the recent addition of the Design…

While the rest of the car industry seems intent on inventing new crossovers, fusing coupés, MPVs, SUVs and saloons, Pininfarina leaves the ordinary behind with its Sintesi, a research prototype where aesthetics, function, man and technology meet. Rather than hybridising tried and tested architectures, this graceful concept car “steps into the future and breaks free from familiar configurations to re-approach the motor car from a fresher perspective in terms of both packaging and context”, says Pininfarina design director Lowie Vermeersch as he explains the forms and content of the Sintesi. While this is a sort of laboratory on wheels, it is also an extremely handsome car, with a sports car theme chosen for the design. It is a four seater grand tourer, with a low, elongated silhouette reminiscent of Italian…

Stile Bertone’s primary goal in the development of the B.A.T. 11 concept was to create an evolution, in a contemporary key, of an advanced project from the past. The static model was originally prepared for the 78th International Geneva Motor Show but, as a result of the turmoil the Turin firm is currently going though and its decision not to attend the Show, it was presented in Geneva at a satellite event instead. To understand this creature, we need to go back more than fifty years into the past. Over the three years 1953, 1954 and 1955, Nuccio Bertone and stylist Franco Scaglione created the B.A.T. 5, B.A.T. 7 and B.A.T. 9 running prototypes on Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint mechanicals. The trio was inspired by the Abarth 1500, which was…

General Motors Europe is getting a firmer and firmer grip on Saab’s future design. But it is not achieving its goals by strict regulation of the Swedish brand’s styling, quite the contrary. Working in collaboration with the dedicated brand centre in Trolhattan, Anthony Lo is developing a design language which is a modernistic interpretation of Saab’s iconic, individual heritage. Now Saab’s 9-X BioHybrid concept, one of the Geneva motor show highlights, can be seen as the final stage in this process which will eventually lead to a totally fresh design for an equally new segment for the Swedish brand, that of the compact premium class. 9-X BioHybrid is the result of a 7-year period during which Saab produced a number of concepts. Anthony Lo, who joined Saab in 2000 and…

Mila Alpin is the latest addition to the strategic Mila concept car brand from Magna Steyr’s design department, headed by Andreas Wolfsgruber. The new show-car follows on from the success of the original Mila single-seater (Frankfurt IAA 2005) and the Mila Future RHT (Geneva 2007). An extremely capable and compact off-roader, Mila Alpin takes the idea for its styling and colour scheme from the mountain rock and ice of the Alps; the scenario for which the car was created. Senior designer Tim Doherty was responsible for the project. “The major form has a dramatic horizontal cut and strong, angular shapes, inspired by the powerful forces of nature at work when a mountain is created”, he explained. “Crevasses, rock falls and ice sheets were key visual cues for this design”. The…

Objects today, especially those with high tech content, are experienced increasingly by touch and often with a simple brush of the finger. The term ‘touch design’ aptly describes many of today’s interfaces between user and object. Sophisticated touch control technology has been used to give the simple act of turning a device on and off a whole new feel, replacing, for instance, conventional light switches and dimmers. Gone is the old click of a switch, and some of today’s latest table and room lights are operated and regulated by simply brushing the fingertips against an interface. Pioneers in this new technology are Luceplan designers such as Alberto Meda, who has been experimenting for years with lamps in which the switch is no longer fixed to a wire and are controlled…