Scroll back to 1978 and Pininfarina caused a furore with its Jaguar XJ Spider. No gush was too purple as the world’s motoring media begged British Leyland to adopt it as a production model. It didn’t, of course, but this one-off roadster remains a classic of its kind
It seems improbable but Worthing once briefly threatened to unseat Turin and Milan as a key hub of international car design. That may sound a mite fanciful, but the appearance of the IAD Lancia Magia at the 1992 Turin motor show triggered palpable ripples because a British styling house had chosen to showcase its brave new world on hallowed turf. The cheek of it all. Here was a Lancia-badged – and supported – coupé that took all the best bits from the Dedra Integrale and added a much-needed dose of style into the mix.
As Pontiac’s star waned in the Nineties, a concept called the Sunfire offered a glimmer of hope. Sadly, as Richard Heseltine discovers, it was a false dawn…
Richard Heseltine looks at Chrysler’s sub-compact concept which turns into a people carrier, the Voyager III – a concept which most definitely took a voyage to obscurity…
From work on Hollywood sci-fi blockbusters to designing the tail-lights on the ’64 Falcon Futura, designer Syd Mead’s star turn was the Ranger II concept pick-up truck, as Richard Heseltine discovers…
The prolific Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti was a mainstay of Triumph design for well over a decade. These special TR3As signal his starting point.
Safety as a marketing concept for cars? Well, Richard Heseltine reckons we have Ralph Nader to thank for that. This month Richard examines a concept vehicle that was a direct result of the sudden interest in vehicle safety after Nader’s campaigning…
