Design

  • 2002 Mini Cooper

    Owners of the first generation of the modern Mini should be doing a happy dance today, because if a certain rumor is true the man behind the iconic, retro-inspired design could be coming home to the brand. Motoringfile, a site exclusively focused on Mini-related news, is reporting a rumor that designer Frank Stephenson, who currently heads design at McLaren, will return to the BMW-owned brand sometime in the near future. Now, if you're not a Mini person, you probably have no idea why this is big news. Allow me, a first-generation Mini owner, to explain. See, Stephenson designed the first of...

  • 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
    Redesigned G-Class will have just 1 exterior part in common with predecessor

    The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is about to undergo its first redesign in its almost four decades of existence. Fans of the off-roader shouldn’t worry, though, as the iconic boxy look won’t be messed with. While speaking with Automotive News (subscription required) during last week’s...

  • Teaser for Mercedes-AMG Project One debuting at 2017 Frankfurt auto show
    Will AMG’s Project One hypercar have gullwing doors?

    We’ve already learned a lot about the mechanical make-up of Mercedes-AMG’s upcoming hypercar, code-named the Project One, but now the people responsible for the design of its exterior and cabin have dropped a few details. Mercedes-Benz design boss Gorden Wagener was responsible for the...

  • Frank Lamberty
    5 questions with Audi designer Frank Lamberty

    Question: Let’s talk design. Shapes, ideas, motion, whatever. What is your favorite car—or make it cars, if you like? Answer: Porsche 904 and Volkswagen Karmann Ghia—the coupe. Those are pure sculptures. They don’t even need wheels. I just love the shapes. Q: What about the...

  • Shiro Nakamura
    Veteran Nissan designer Shiro Nakamura retires, replaced by Alfonso Albaisa, Karim Habib

    Veteran Nissan designer Shiro Nakamura has retired. He will be replaced by Alfonso Albaisa, who currently heads design at Infiniti. Albaisa in turn will be replaced at Infiniti by former BMW brand design boss Karim Habib. Nakamura was brought in by Carlos Ghosn in 1999 to oversee design at Nissan...

  • Jay Leno and the Pagani Huayra
    Jay Leno drives YouTuber’s former Pagani Huayra

    When Horacio Pagani first brought the Huayra to America, one of the first stops he made was at Jay Leno’s garage. That was back in 2011, and because the Huayra hadn’t been certified at the time Leno wasn’t actually able to drive the car. That issue was rectified just a year later...

  • Jozef Kaban

    It’s safe to say that BMW design is in a bit of a funk. All that could be about to change, however, as the automaker is injecting some new blood into its design team. The BMW Group on Wednesday confirmed that Jozef Kaban will be in charge of design at BMW. He replaces Karim Habib who stepped down in January after five years in the role. Kaban was previously employed by the Volkswagen Group where he was in charge of design at Skoda. Prior to the role at Skoda, he worked on the exterior of the Bugatti Veyron and also headed design at Audi. The BMW Group also announced the promotion of...

  • BMW 5-Series design video
    Video outlines differences between new BMW 5-Series and its predecessor

    BMW has just introduced a complete redesign for its 5-Series, though to the casual observer the differences between the new car and its predecessor will be hard to spot. It appears the issue has not gone completely unnoticed at BMW as the automaker has released a video outlining the stylistic...

  • Mercedes-Benz Aesthetics A, 2017 Design Essentials workshop
    Mercedes previews next-gen compacts with Aesthetics A design study

    Mercedes-Benz on Thursday unveiled a design study called the Aesthetics A during a design workshop held at its headquarters in Sindelfingen, Germany. Mercedes design boss Gordon Wagener has been central in turning the lines of Mercedes cars from boring to beautiful since taking the design reins in...

  • Mercedes-Benz sports car design study, 2017 Design Essentials workshop
    Might this Mercedes sports car design study preview AMG’s Project One hypercar?

    Mercedes-Benz this week hosted a design workshop at its headquarters in Sindelfingen, Germany to provide a behind-the-scenes look at its design process. The automaker used the workshop to present various design studies, one of which, described as a “sports car study,” has proportions...

  • 2017 Audi R8 with matte “Audi Sport” logo embedded on side blades
    New technique allows Audi to embed symbols within paint

    Vehicle personalization is all the rage these days and Audi has developed a new technique for painted surfaces that could take off in a big way. The technique, which will initially be made available on the R8 supercar, enables virtually any symbol to be embedded within a painted surface. The...

  • Karim Habib
    BMW chief designer leaving the company

    Automotive News (subscription required) has confirmed that BMW chief designer Karim Habib is quitting the company. It is not known where Habib will end up. Habib, 46, has been the chief designer for the BMW brand since 2012. He started at BMW in 1998 and worked there since, with the exception of a...

  • Ferrari J50 celebrates 50 years of Ferrari in Japan

    Ferrari’s [NYSE:RACE] Special Projects division has built a bespoke supercar to mark the 50th anniversary of the Italian marque’s sales in Japan. You’ll recall Ferrari did something similar in 2014 to mark 60 years of sales in the United States. The Japanese special is the J50 which Ferrari has confirmed will be built in a limited run of just 10 examples. Last week the car made its debut at the Ferrari 50 Year in Japan Anniversary Finale held at Tokyo’s New National Art Museum. ALSO SEE: This is what it looks like when a brake rotor explodes The J50, which is based on...

  • Sasha Selipanov
    Genesis snags Bugatti Chiron designer

    Hyundai’s new luxury brand Genesis has managed to snag another top Volkswagen Group designer. Sasha Selipanov, who was tasked to help design the Bugatti Chiron after one of his initial proposals won an internal design competition at the VW Group, is joining Genesis as the head of the...

  • Acura Precision Cockpit concept, 2016 Los Angeles auto show
    Acura Precision Cockpit concept previews future cabin design

    Early this year at the Detroit auto show, Acura showed the future of its exterior design in the form of the Acura Precision sedan concept. At the 2016 Los Angeles auto show on Wednesday, the brand showed what its future interiors will look like and how they will function with the Acura Precision...

  • Infiniti Le Mans 2030 is 2017 Michelin Design Challenger winner
    2017 Michelin Challenge Design imagines Le Mans in 2030

    Michelin loves pushing the envelope when it comes to future automotive design. The tire company often holds design challenge contests that give gifted folks a topic and let them loose. For the 2017 challenge, which is so futuristic that it's taking place in 2016, the contestants were asked to...

  • Lexus Kinetic Seat Concept
    Lexus to show off Kinetic Seat concept at Paris auto show

    The car seat, while receiving safety upgrades over the years, is relatively the same as the one folks have become used to for decades now. A lower portion. An upper portion. Some cloth, or perhaps leather, and if you're lucky you'll get multiple-powered ways to adjust it all to your liking. Lexus...

  • 2017 McLaren MSO HS
    McLaren design boss: Wheels inspired by tree roots promise weight, strength improvements

    According to McLaren’s head designer, future wheel patterns will be radically different to what we’re used to seeing. Speaking with Motoring, McLaren design boss Frank Stephenson said his team is looking at asymmetrical wheel patterns inspired by the root systems of trees...

  • MV Agusta F4Z concept

    We’re used to seeing Zagato churn out stunning concepts, though these typically feature four wheels. The latest creation from the Italian design house features just two, however. Zagato has partnered with fellow Italian firm MV Agusta to design a concept motorcycle, revealed today ahead of its September 4 formal debut as the MV Agusta F4Z. It was commissioned by MV Agusta on behalf of a Japanese client with a penchant for Zagato design. The “F4” in the name refers to MV Agusta’s signature F4, suggesting that the impressive concept could hint at a future design for the...

  • Techrules AT96 TREV prototype
    Italdesign founder to help shape China’s Techrules supercar

    At March’s 2016 Geneva auto show, a Chinese firm by the name of Techrules rolled out a supercar concept driven by an extended-range electric powertrain where the range-extender was a jet turbine. Few at the time thought much about the car, since it seems to be a trend among electric car...

  • John Paul Gregory is the new Head of Exterior Design for Bentley
    Bentley appoints new Head of Exterior Design

    Bentley coupes, sedans, and, yes, even SUVs could have some refreshed styling on the outside in the coming years thanks to a management shakeup. The high-end British luxury car maker has appointed John Paul Gregory as its new Head of Exterior Design. He's been with the brand for more than eight...

  • Teaser for Cadillac concept car debuting during 2016 Monterey Car Week
    Cadillac to preview new tech, design themes with concept in Monterey

    Cadillac has dropped a teaser video for a new concept car it plans to unveil on Thursday as part of its Monterey Car Week schedule. The concept is thought to preview new technology and design themes for Cadillac’s upcoming models, and not necessarily a specific model. The General Motors...

  • Borgward BX5 and Projekt BX6 TS
    Mini design boss Anders Warming moves to Borgward

    Danish designer Anders Warming has left the BMW Group where he worked for the past 16 years to join fellow German automaker Borgward. Borgward went out of business more than half a century ago but was recently revived by a descendant of the founder of the original company, as well as Chinese...

  • Proposed design for Bugatti Chiron by Sasha Selipanov - Image via CNET
    What the Bugatti Chiron could have looked like

    The design of Bugatti’s new Chiron was met with almost universal praise at its unveiling at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. But it was just one of several proposals, and others, such as this one from Bugatti designer Sasha Selipanov, show that the 1,480-horsepower hypercar could have taken on a...

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