The Lotus Emira represents a sort of watershed in the history of the British brand. It is in fact the last combustion engine car from the Hethel manufacturer before the transition to a totally electric range. In this sense, it marks at the same time the end of a journey that began decades ago with the Elise and Exige and continued with other models such as the Evora, but also the beginning of a new era, especially in style. This was also often stated by Russell Carr, head of the brand’s design since 2014, who with the Emira wanted to define the look of the Lotus sports cars of the future ..read more

Our meeting with Chen Zheng, Vice President of Geely Auto Group, took place on the 16th floor of the Torre Diamante, one of the symbols of Porta Nuova, Milan, a district revitalised by the pencils of great architects and today one of the trendiest places in the city. This is where the Chinese manufacturer has opened its Geely Innovation Design Center Italy: “The strong design culture here gives us the chance to deliver a more inclusive design. I believe that design is the most eloquent interpreter of a brand’s values whatever the field, whether it’s cars or fashion”, Zheng says.  Leading ..read more

Some designs are intentional from the beginning, while others come from intuition and inspiration. The new “retrofuturistic” Renault 5 small electric car is one of the latter. In late 2019, Renault designers working on special projects came up with an idea for a future small electric car. They produced a design study that drew inspiration from the original Renault 5 — but with the automaker still dealing with the fallout from the Carlos Ghosn scandal, their idea stayed in obscurity. A bright orange colour Then in early July 2020, former Seat CEO Luca de Meo became head of Renault Group, an ..read more

Since the ‘50s and ‘60s, Chrysler has been synonymous on the American market with great design and attention to detail. Now, at the dawn of a great effort aimed not only at expanding the range – at the moment the brand has only two cars in the catalogue, the Pacifica and the 300 – but also at addressing the epochal changes towards electric and autonomous driving, it reclaims that role by offering its vision of the near future with a concept that cannot leave anyone indifferent. North star It’s called Halcyon and it is, as Irina Zavatski states, “a vision of style and proportions between to ..read more

Nimble, dynamic and sporty. The Junior is the Alfa Romeo that wasn’t, a sharply featured, muscular compact that had long been missing from the Biscione range. “In July 2021 when I arrived at Alfa Romeo, the project was already underway but we needed to give it more character”, says Alejandro Mesonero Romanos, head of Alfa Romeo design, whom we met up with at the style centre in Turin. A raised hatchback While the initial architecture of the Junior was conceived with SUV undertones, it now has more the look of a raised hatchback: “There is no firm or soft surface, you just have to look more ..read more

Renault has unveiled the Symbioz, the heir to the 1965 Renault 16 as it embraces the same innovative spirit and concept of a ‘car for living’ dedicated to families. The Symbioz is a C-segment SUV designed for families looking for spaciousness, modularity, modernity and efficiency but also for company fleets. “Its design combines sensual volumes and dynamic lines, treated with finesse and precision. With a well-balanced profile, Symbioz exudes strength and technicality while promising great on-board roominess,” explains Gilles Vidal, head of design at Renault. Designed on the elongated CMF ..read more

Present, past and future. The Ferrari 12Cilindri has all the elements of the time within it: it celebrates the V12 engine, the Cavallino’s power unit par excellence, indulges in a few references to models of the past and anticipates the ideas and shapes of tomorrow’s Ferraris. The Ferrari 12Cilindri is inspired by the Ferrari Gran Turismos of the 1950s and 1960s and fully embodies the mission of the front-engined, two-seater V12 Ferrari in a combination of elegance, versatility and performance. ‘”When we design a new model we always start from a dream. For the 12Cilindri, there was a strong t ..read more

With new MG3 Hybrid+, MG brand is attacking a traditionally “mass” segment, that of small cars, where maintaining the balance between cutting-edge contents and accessible costs is today always harder. The model responds to this mission profile starting from the aesthetics, which challenges the refined sophistication, even stylistic, of the main rivals (in particular the Toyota Yaris and Renault Clio, the most successful hybrids in the category) with a modern but simple and balanced appearance. The compact shapes are in fact those of a classic five-door hatchback, but dimensions are a littl ..read more

While waiting for the auto shows in Europe to regain their importance, new opportunities for the design community to meet are emerging. At the beginning of April, we took part in the Car Design Event, now in its second edition, organized at the Drivers & Business Club in Munich by Jens Meiners and Des Sellmeijer, journalists from the automotive sector. An event that brought together about fifty car designers, as many journalists from the specialized press and a group of transportation design students, who came to discuss current and future trends in the automotive world as well as to see ..read more

The new Dacia Duster is among the most anticipated cars of the year. One of the best-selling SUVs of all time, it will be seen on the roads starting from autumn, although it is officially on sale. The Duster, with the third generation, introduces interesting innovations both in terms of mechanics and design. Speaking of style, everything revolves around the concept of offroad. The car has more visible muscles than in the past, squared lines and, in general, a more solid and massive appearance. All this, maintaining a certain simplicity that gives the car a strong personality without weighing ..read more