Design

The interiors of Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation compact cars are taking a marked step up in the areas of design and quality. The German automaker on Wednesday gave an early look at the interior that will be appearing in cars like the next-generation CLA and GLA, as well as a new A-Class...

It’s great to see the practice of coachbuilding, where a custom body is draped across a donor chassis, is alive and well. That’s thanks in part to talented designers like Ken Okuyama. The man is most widely recognized for his work done at Pininfarina, where he penned such masterpieces...

Finally free of years of mismanagement at the hands of General Motors, Opel has the potential to thrive under the stewardship of new owner PSA Group. In its new PACE! strategy announced on Thursday, Opel will address the complexities and inefficiencies that have led to almost two decades of losses...

Italian design house Zagato used this week’s 2017 Tokyo Motor Show to unveil its concept developed for the Vision Gran Turismo project, a challenge put out by the makers of the “Gran Turismo” video game in 2013 to automakers and design firms to see who could come up with the best...

Lexus rolled out the LS+ concept car on Wednesday at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show. The concept is based on the recently introduced fifth-generation LS but is slightly longer, wider and lower, giving it a more imposing stance. It also features unique styling treatments that hint at the next evolution...

There’s probably no greater challenge for a designer than redesigning an icon. And they don’t get more iconic than the Land Rover Defender, a vehicle whose design hasn’t changed much in close to seven decades. Land Rover was forced to end production of the Defender last year, with...

Mazda will unveil two new concept cars at this month’s 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, but unfortunately neither of them will be a sports car. One of the concepts will preview Mazda’s next-generation design themes while the other will preview the automaker’s next-generation technologies...

There may not be a more divisive modern automotive designer than Chris Bangle. The former BMW design chief was responsible for some of the most controversial designs the marque has ever put into production, some of which have left many divided to this day. Bangle emerged from his design studio in...

Hyundai Motor Group is boosting its arsenal of top designers by adding Belgian Pierre Leclercq to its ranks. Leclercq will fill the new role of Head of Styling for Kia, where he will be in charge of shaping the long-term design strategy for the brand. He’s also been tasked with ensuring...

One could be forgiven for thinking Porsche just hit copy on the company’s Xerox machine when designing the latest Cayenne, but there’s actually a lot of subtlety and fine details that make the third-generation model unique. A new video on the design of the latest Cayenne, which arrives...

Everyone's favorite example of slow car that begs to be driven fast almost looked a little different from the production Mazda MX-5 Miata on the road today. The brand itself recently released a slew of images that show a handful of design proposals for what would become the...

Gordon Murray has been more than a landmark figure in the automotive industry: at times, he has simply defined how supercars are engineered and designed. Now, his career to date will come to a crescendo at the Gordon Murray design exhibition. The exhibit will take place on November 3, 2017, at...

Jaws all over the world collectively dropped last summer with the reveal of a concept showcasing an early design for Aston Martin’s new Valkyrie hypercar being developed in partnership with the Red Bull Racing Formula One team. However, opposite to what’s usually the case in the auto...

On Monday, we brought you the first images of the Manhattan V16, a luxurious grand tourer proposed by American startup Godsil Motorcars. But long before Godsil founder and namesake Jason Godsil dreamed of reviving America’s once proud ultra-luxury automotive sector, he hoped to build a...

Former Volkswagen Group design boss Walter de Silva has come out of retirement to join German engineering consultancy EDAG, and his first task will be to design a fleet of cars for a Chinese electric car startup. The Italian designer quit his post at the VW Group in October 2015, a month after the...

BMW stunned audiences at this past weekend’s 2017 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy with the unveiling of the 8-Series concept. The sultry coupe introduces a new and very modern take on the typical BMW design cues. BMW design has been in a funk for some time so the marked...

The BMW Group confirmed on Thursday that Oliver Heilmer will take over as the new design boss at Mini. Mini's last design boss, Anders Warming, left the brand last summer to join Chinese-backed automaker Borgward. Heilmer is currently head of BMW Group’s Designworks studio and will start his...

McLaren has announced that Rob Melville will serve as Design Director at its road car division. Melville replaces Frank Stephenson who is stepping down on his own accord. The news follows a report from earlier this month that Stephenson is about to take over the design reins at Mini. Melville has...

Fiat hasn't seen paramount success since returning to the United States in 2011, but it does arguably offer some pretty nice, affordable cars. In a world full of angry-eyed sports cars, there's the Fiat 124 Spider. Its non-aggression is subtle and approachable, and it marks a departure from the...

Ralph Gilles may be one of the most highly respected automotive designers of the modern era, but he's not just about drawing lines and shaping figures: he's a car guy. He's not just a car guy either, he's a motorsports aficionado and has quite the penchant for track days. An episode of the new...