car design thread

Quick Tony, fetch the Lupara! This Corvette powered car, designed in Italy, built for a Chinese firm, and which features a lot of titanium bodywork in the prototype is pictured here:

iconavulcano.com/photos

Looks kinda F12 to me. I'm just sayin'

Does Ferrari copyright the shape of their cars? Are the designers ex-Ferrari or ex-Pininfarina?

Also Aston announced a race car called the Vulcan, to be shown at Pebble .Is there a name conflict brewing here?

PS I kind of like the name Lupara for a car. Each one could feature a case with a 12-gauge Lupara fitted to it and a few rounds...

 

The electric ‘supercar’ built for fun by Chinese student for just £3,000 (although it does only have a top speed of 37mph)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsKY9qidR6Q


http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/07/16/14/2A94833500000578-3163808-image-m-14_1437051841139.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/07/16/14/2A94830100000578-3163808-image-m-18_1437053478067.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NUcTZwX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CKqhRHv.jpg

Another 20 years for our overlords to allow such designs on the roads in this environment of planned obsolescence.
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...Hyundai vision coupe! Maybe a bit of Cadillac in the rear quarters too...?

Overall not too bad IMHO; but can we just get over the so overdone fish-mouth grilles and giant non-functional brake cooling intakes?
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Bentley/Cadillac rear, Aston Martin/Ford grill and headlights, Lamborghini brake ducts?

It's a mess.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Lots of curves, but not SEXY curves + air intake as large as the SR71 = fail.

 

Also following the SCG003 thread, and I don't remember that we ever discussed that car here. I was prompted to mention it, as a recent lovely little detail photo has me thinking that the care taken in the design process for this VERY limited production car was well beyond what we see coming from any of the large firms of late.
One of those things that show someone really cares...
https://instagram.com/p/6PuF_SEOm3/

 

Not disagreeing, but....for the mega-incremental $$$$ you should get something special....

 

The price is of course mainly the result of the very challenging design brief and the microscopic "production" volume, but I do agree that for the SCG003 entry fee, you should expect brilliant detailing.
The sad truth is that there are a lot of VERY expensive cars out there that don't come close to showing the level of thought that is on display here. My main complaint is that good design doesn't need to cost extra, in fact, often as not it costs less by such things as innovative use of materials or combining functions.
I could just as easily argue that when you're making 100K+ of something, the cost difference between a beautiful door hinge and an of the shelf lump is almost non-existent, and that it should be easier to make a case for excellence.

just sayin'

 

Say it aint so WO.

 

Mores the shame.

What do they say about trying to be all things to all men?

 

a fool and his money...

 

He got a bunch right. Where he should have continued with the argument is how design needs the power to over rule the timid. Of course that would also mean that the corporate heads select a design leader in the mold of Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell and Virgil Exner instead of the compliant politicians.

Jeff

 

He nailed it conceptually but he used an example that is the next step in the fall of Schreyer (unless he turns things around), after the Optima put him where he is, the next brilliant move was the K900, aptly named as it is a dog. It is nothing new, with Lexus form language. Now this showcar, which has some interesting items but is far from stunning or showing a (good) future direction. Not only is it not attractive, it lacks the basic foundations of a good design: proportion, stance and theme.
In fact, Lutz is missing his own point, Schreyer is not an up and coming designer that can shape the future, he is a boss, probably 3 levels above someone who is still sketching. His opinion is important and he has done a great job, but he is not the "designer" that Lutz is talking about.

 

I figure that there is not a design studio that does not have extremely talented designer in it. So the issue is not the designers on the boards; excepting when they have become burned out. But even the talented burn outs suffer from the same overall condition as the most motivated & talented - management. Design management must be the ones selecting the best to develop and making the right selections at each decision point. The best on the "boards" cannot overcome bad/inept or absent leadership.

Then design's leadership must be allowed by the rest of the organization to lead. I have made no secret of my disdain for Wayne Cherry as the head of GM Design. He makes a wonderful example of what goes wrong when to ascend one sells their soul to the leadership. It cripples their ability to fight for what is right. Of course when the "leadership" thinks cars are soap boxes with hood ornaments it makes sense, I guess.

Design has flourished when the head of design is strong and has the backing from the highest levels of the organization. Lutz specifics may be condensed and even his best example for a "mass market" story may not be perfect but his thrust is absolutely correct.