Auto® 2012 report by Stylus

7/30/2019 Auto 2012 report by Stylus

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Auto Design Conference

The Auto design conference in Zagreb,

Croatia, shines a spotlight on the automotiveindustry. Speakers include British designerand aerodynamics expert Peter Stevens

principal of Italian styling house Synthesis

Design, Carlo Giano and founder of UK

automotive consultancy Drive, Chris

Longmore. Auto also hosted the BestDesigned Car 2011 award, elected by 39

international experts in the transport design

community. Stylus summarises the key

takeaways.

16 May 2012

EVENTS

SMG 2012


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Auto Design Conference

The Auto design conference in Zagreb, Croatia, shines a spotlight on the automotive industry.

Speakers include British designer and aerodynamics expert Peter Stevens; principal of Italian styling

house Synthesis Design, Carlo Giano; and founder of UK automotive consultancy Drive, Chris

Longmore. Auto also hosted the Best Designed Car 2011 award, elected by 39 international experts in

the transport design community. Stylus summarises the key takeaways.

Peter Stevens: Put Away PreconceptionsPeter Stevens, most revered for designing the British McLaren F1 supercar, urged designers to pack away their cultural

preconceptions when seeking inspiration from other cultures.

l Stevens says the pressure to progress automotive design has resulted in the demise of the beautiful car. The

current trend is to design something brutal, almost military-like, he says. Its hard to see where the design

progression is going to be. Its now more important to make an impact than use classic proportions.

l He highlighted the importance of aerodynamics, even when designing slow cars. When aerodynamic drag is

reduced, you lower the energy needed to power a car increasing fuel efficiency.

l As a visiting tutor at the Royal College of Art, London, Stevens is constantly challenged by student work that

pushes the boundaries of transport design.He is also influenced by the ways in which fashion designers interpret

new cultures when designing garments.

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http://www.rca.ac.uk/http://www.mclaren.com/home/http://www.peterstevens.co.uk/


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Peter Stevens McLaren F1

The current trend is to design something brutal, almost military-like. Its hard to see where the design progression is

going to be. Its now more important to make an impact than use classic proportions. Peter Stevens

Carlo Giano: Talk Less, Do More

Car design has slowed down drastically in recent years. Designs such as the Italian Maserati Barchetta of the 1990s

took as little as five months to create today, car designs take several years.

Carlo Giano, who has designed public transport for Italian brand Fiat and racing cars including the 1988 carbon fibre

Lancia ECV II, argues that this slowdown could be damaging. I wish creativity would come back in a good and better

way, he says. At the recent auto shows I was scared of the low level of creativity. There are few cars that make you ask

yourself: Where did this come from? What was the design process? We need to do more and talk less about design.

Carlo Giano Maserati Barchetta

Future Thrills

A panel discussion between speakers Peter S tevens, Chris Longmore and Alessio Minchella an Italian automotive

designer and professor at international design school Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) explored the sports cars

position in society today.

l The panel agree that speed is no longer the defining aspect of a sports car. The worlds fastest production car

French manufacturerBugattis Veyron Super Sport, capable of 431 km ph shows that the ultimate speed is

achievable. Perhaps we need a new definition.

l Peter Stevens argues we need to search for new challenges, suggesting that the future might be a competition for

the most efficient car. He imagined a vehicle that would display its current fuel economy on a large external

display for other drivers to see and compete against.

l The internet is desensitising people to the aesthetic of sports cars, says Minchella. The new generation growing

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http://www.bugatti.com/en/home.htmlhttp://www.ied.edu/http://alessiominchella.altervista.org/http://www.drivedesign.co.uk/http://www.lancia.com/http://www.synthesisdesign.it/http://www.maserati.com/


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up with the internet are so influenced by the images they see. Were obsessed by the amazing everyday, so the

effort needed to surprise someone is so much greater. Stevens adds: Previously, sports cars were inaccessible.

Now, due to the internet, we get numb and you see them everywhere. Maybe thats the reason sports cars arent

so super anymore.

l Chis Longmore suggests we can increase a drivers emotional connection with sports cars through better user

experience design. This could range from creating surprise and delight in design details to changing the way

electric cars sound to make them more exciting.

P et er S te ve ns , D an ie l T om ic ic a nd A le ss io M in ch el la C hi s L on gm or e

The new generation growing up with the internet are so influenced by the images they see. Were obsessed by the amazing

everyday, so the effort needed to surprise someone is so much greater. Alessio Minchella

Best Designed Car 2011

The inaugural Best Designed Car award celebrated good automotive design, focusing on production cars and concept

cars presented in 2011. The winners were chosen by 39 experts in the transport design community, including Patrick Le

Qument, former chief designer of French manufacturerRenault and German industrial designerLuigi Colani.

French automakerPeugeots HX1 MPV, which debuted at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, won the concept car prize.It

explores a future French luxury vehicle featuring a white leather and oak interior. The panel praised how it investigates a

new design language for Peugeot, with an aesthetic that flows from the low, sleek, exterior into the light-filled interior.

After awkward years of Peugeot design, this well-done experiment is a treat, says Daniel Simon, Los Angeles-based

concept vehicle designer for films including Tron Legacy, Prometheus and Captain America. Naively seductive eighties

stance, clear lines and the unique French [attention to] detail. Inspired me most in 2011.

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http://danielsimon.com/http://edit.stylus.com/Events/2011/September/Reports/Frankfurt-Auto-Show/http://www.peugeot.com/en.aspxhttp://www.colani.ch/http://www.renault.com/pages/index.aspx


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Peugeot HD1 Concept

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The latest iteration of the 911 sports car, first launched in 1963 by German manufacturerPorsche, won the production

car award. The jury commended the evolution of the 911s classic design, introducing new proportions that make the car

appear modern and purposeful while maintaining its recognisable silhouette. Possibly the hardest job in car design

fulfilled the design classic that is the 911 made to look very 2010s as well as very 911 and very desirable, says Sam

Livingstone, director of UK-based automotive consultancy Car Design Research.

Porsche 911

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http://www.cardesignresearch.com/site/http://www.porsche.com/


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The jury also highlighted the production DS5 hatchback by French manufacturer Citron for its concept car looks that

dont reference the brands historic designs. With this quirky and busy design, Citron liberates itself from a) the

competition, b) its current line-up, c) its glorious but difficult-to-remake past, says Karl Haug, founder of Norway's

automotive lifestyle magazine Carls Cars.

The DS5 is not a masterpiece of simplicity it is more like a wild concept that has made it into production, he adds.

Like it or not, it creates the attention the brand needs in old and new international markets.

Citron DS5

The DS5 is nota masterpiece of simplicity; it is more like a wild concept that has made it into production. Like it or not, it

creates the attention the brand needs in old and new international markets. Karl Haug

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http://www.carls-cars.com/flash.htmlhttp://www.carls-cars.com/flash.htmlhttp://www.citroen.com/


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StylusSummary

The pressure to progress auto

design has caused the demise of the

beautiful car, says British designer

and aerodynamics expert Peter

Stevens.

The super car is beginning to fall out

of favour in todays environmentally

conscious society. We need to

search for new automotive

challenges, including extreme

efficiency.

French auto maker Peugeots HX1

MPV won the best-designed concept

car award 2011. The panel praised

how it investigates a new design

language for the brand.

Car designers can draw lessons from

other disciplines such as fashion

design for their work.

Good design is about improved user

experience but also emotional

connections and the two are

interlinked.

SMG 2012

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Auto® 2012 report by Stylus