Design

Frank Stephenson, the man behind such memorable works like the Ferrari 430 and 612 Scaglietti, will be leaving his post as Head of Design at the Prancing Horse label to start a new job as Alfa Romeo’s Style chief. Stephenson will be reporting directly to Fiat Group’s chief stylist...

Former Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, the man behind such beauties as the DB9, Vantage and even BMW’s Z8, has applied his talents in the world of aftermarket alloy wheels. His California-based car company, Fisker Coachbuild, has now released a limited set of alloy wheels styled by the...

Ford has been slow to act on the environmental front and with the styling advancement of its sedan range, a mistake senior management, including former CEO Bill Ford, regrets. You only have to look at the boring designs that have gone into its passenger cars to understand how stale Ford’s...

Starting in June, Lorenzo Ramaciotti will take on the responsibility for the future styling of all the brands of Fiat Group and Maserati. Directly reporting to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, Ramaciotti will be in charge of the future direction of some of Fiat’s most important models including...

Kelley Blue Book (KBB) and its marketing research team have listed the brands that car buyers find to have the most exceptional ‘exterior styling’ in each vehicle segment. The results come from a study conducted by Brand Watch, KBB’s newest automotive research study. Though...

A new intelligent lighting system that uses an on-board camera to detect oncoming traffic or pedestrians and then adjusts the car’s headlight beam angle so as to not dazzle them has been developed and could one day be introduced as standard equipment on all new cars. The UK’s...

Researchers at MIT have come up with a new engine design that improves the fuel efficiency and output of today’s powerplants but at a fraction of the cost of an equally efficient hybrid drivetrain. Scientist Daniel Cohn gives the example of a simple 2.4L four-cylinder mill, a motor that...

Students from the Espera Sbarro design school have teamed up with French television’s ‘Turbo’ car show to build the Turbo S20 Barchetta concept car to mark both the TV show and the design school’s twentieth birthdays. Up to 20 students took part in creating the new concept...

General Motors recently demonstrated its latest development in the field of smart materials during a media event at its R&D center. New technologies such as shape memory alloys and polymers are just some of the new materials that GM is investigating for future use in its cars. The materials get...

Future Mercedes Benz models will share much more components across its lineup thanks to a new strategy that's being implemented. Currently, engineers design and build unique components for each model series, a practice that increases both development time and costs. CEO Dieter Zetsche gave a good...

Giugiaro will be showcasing its own Vadhò hydrogen concept car at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, the design house’s first attempt at an all-green vehicle. Built of a unique platform, the Vadhò is powered by a hydrogen fuelled powerplant located next to the rear seat, which itself is...

This futuristic looking Audi is the creation of a computer design fan who always wanted to create a modern version of Audi’s own AVUS concept car. You may recall that the AVUS was a concept displayed by Audi back in 1991 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The designer of the AVUS 2, however, even...

Romanian born Mihai Panaitescu has taken top honors in Peugeot's international design competition with his Flux Concept Design out of a field of over 4,000 entrants. The judges selected the winner from 30 projects that made the final round, and now the hydrogen-based prototype is set to be...

Inspired by the classic lines of the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg sports cars of the 1930’s, Coventry Transport Design student Andrew Varnish has drawn up his own take of the classic sports coupe in the form of the 2007 AV Design Forte concept. The proposed specs read like those of a modern...

Ford is developing a new global design theme for future models, a move that ties in with the company’s “one Ford” vision strategy. The design chiefs for Ford’s North American and European divisions have combined their respective development teams to create a common design...

The Michelin stand at this week’s Detroit Auto Show revealed the strangest looking and most diverse range of concepts of the entire show. The Challenge is to celebrate, promote, publicize and give visibility to original creative thinking and innovation in vehicle design and to help give young...

Peugeot recently ran a design competition asking entrants to submit their sketches of future concepts that had the following attributes: Pleasurable (to drive), lively, efficient, accessible, simple and ecological. Over 4000 entries were received, and surprisingly the largest number came from China...

Geoff Upex, the man who penned the Range Rover, Discovery and new LR2 (Freelander for overseas readers), is stepping down from the automotive design world vowing never to design another car again. The U.K.’s AutoExpress reports that Upex will retire at Christmas after a 23-year stint at Land...

Following on from where the Kabura, Sassou and Senku design concepts left off, Mazda will be displaying its latest work at this month’s Greater Los Angeles International Auto Show. The Japanese carmaker will take the wraps of its Nagare concept, whose styling will indicate the future trend of...

The Wildcat design concept is the third major project from Bulgarian based design group 12B Concept. Created by a core team of three members, the Wildcat is purely a design study but could form the basis of a production version if the company receives financial backing. Positioned as a mid-ranged...