12/ 27/ 12 Exam ples | Aut om ot ive design | About design | Design Council

1/ 6designcouncil. or g. uk/ about - design/ Types- of - design/ Tr anspor t - Design/ Aut om ot ive- design/ Exam ples/

We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. By continuing to browse, you are agreeing to our

use of cookies. Find out more X

Home > About design > Types of design > Transport Design > Automotive design >

Examples

Examples of great automotive design

Some inspirational examples of automotive design, chosen by Chris Clements and Dr Samantha

Porter.

Project

Austin Mini

Client

Austin

Designer

Alec Issigonis

Year

1955-58

At a time when almost all cars had a separate chassis and a longways-mounted front engine with rear wheel

drive, Issigonis embarked on a package-driven design study. His targets for the dimensions of the passenger

compartment and the overall size of the vehicle were so aggressive that in order to achieve them he rewrote the

rules for packaging the mechanicals. The monocoque body and transverse engine front wheel drive layout

resulted in a revolutionary new appearance.

Project

New Mini

Client

12/ 27/ 12 Exam ples | Aut om ot ive design | About design | Design Council

2/ 6designcouncil. or g. uk/ about - design/ Types- of - design/ Tr anspor t - Design/ Aut om ot ive- design/ Exam ples/

BMW

Designer

BMW Design

Year

1995-98

In recent years, the preoccupation with package efficiency, cost and

function in small cars has led to the establishment of a set of common

vehicle sizes. In order to differentiate itself, BMW chose to enter the

market with a vehicle that was unique in appearance. The car was given immense character by updating the

original Mini design. To achieve this, compromises were made in terms of package efficiency and practicality, but

the fact that customers do not view these compromises as shortcomings proves that a car’s aesthetics are just as

important to the customer as performance.

Project

24/7

Client

Ford Motor Company

Designer

Ford Advanced Design

Year

1999

Ford was keen to research what type of car would appeal to a younger buyer. Working on the premise that theiMac computer was the ‘hot rod of the nineties’ the exercise focused on interior features and comprised three

vehicles – an estate car for ‘me and my friends’, a pick-up for ‘me and my sport’ and a sedan for ‘tailgateparties’. The interiors featured computer technologies tailored to each of the themes. The instrument panels wereconfigured like a computer desktop and capable of the same degree of customisation. The idea was that the

vehicle should engage the young user in the same way as their home computer.

12/ 27/ 12 Exam ples | Aut om ot ive design | About design | Design Council

3/ 6designcouncil. or g. uk/ about - design/ Types- of - design/ Tr anspor t - Design/ Aut om ot ive- design/ Exam ples/

Project

Ford O21C

Client

Ford Motor Company

Designer

Marc Newson

Year

1999

Ford was experimenting with the application of product design aesthetics in the automotive field. Ford designersin its advanced department were conducting such product oriented projects 24/7. In this context there was adesire to see how a respected product designer would meet similar challenges. Marc Newson had made a

number of presentations to Ford designers which had sparked interest, so he was the prime candidate to workon the project. Newson designed O21C in the relative isolation of Ford’s Ghia studio in Turin. The outcome was

a startling embodiment of Newson’s unique style of product design.

Project

Range Rover

Client

Austin Rover

Designer

David Bache

Year

1967-70

BL, the parent company of Land Rover, identified an opportunity to create a new type of vehicle that could

perform the tasks of a Land Rover while offering a high degree of pace and luxury: ‘The hundred miles per hour

workhorse’. David Bache met the challenge of communicating both a tough off-road image and fast luxurioustransportation with the clever use of materials and appropriate product design cues. The vehicle had off-road

12/ 27/ 12 Exam ples | Aut om ot ive design | About design | Design Council

4/ 6designcouncil. or g. uk/ about - design/ Types- of - design/ Tr anspor t - Design/ Aut om ot ive- design/ Exam ples/

ride height mixed with sophisticated body surfacing. It featured a richly appointed interior with a command

driving position. Today almost every manufacturer competes in the SUV segment defined by the Range Rover.

Project

Corvette Stingray

Client

General Motors

Designer

Larry Shinoda

Year

1960-63

General Motors introduced the original Corvette in 1953, but Ford soon responded with the Thunderbird.

Concerned at losing sales to Ford, GM experimented with the Corvette Shark show car, exhibiting it at various

events to gauge public reaction. The blue shark was the inspiration for a sinister, aggressive design and eveninfluenced the two-tone paint scheme. The response was positive and Larry Shinoda evolved the design for mass

production. While the dual plexi-glass cockpit covers were discarded, the design remained spectacular, and led

to a series of dramatic Corvette sports cars.

Project

Mazda MX5

Client

Mazda

Designer

Mazda Advanced Design

Year

12/ 27/ 12 Exam ples | Aut om ot ive design | About design | Design Council

5/ 6designcouncil. or g. uk/ about - design/ Types- of - design/ Tr anspor t - Design/ Aut om ot ive- design/ Exam ples/

1986-89

British manufacturers had vacated the market for small two-seat convertibles as a result of lack of investment andever stricter US legislation. Mazda was first to react to this global opportunity. Its Advanced Design studio

defined a new incarnation of the traditional compact front-engine, rear-drive, open-top layout. They used the

original Lotus Elan as the benchmark for attributes such as handling and appearance. They concentrated on

achieving a coherence of design and function that would assure longevity. The result became the best-sellingvehicle of its type in history.

Project

Lamborghini Miura

Client

Lamborghini

Designer

Marcello Gandini/Bertone

Year

1965-67

Ferruccio Lamborghini entered automobile manufacture with the goal of eclipsing Ferrari. In 1965 he hired the

services of Bertone expressly for this purpose and between them they created the first mid-engined road-going

super car. To achieve the stunning proportion of the vehicle, a transverse twelve cylinder mid-engine layout wasemployed, with the gearbox mounted below the engine, sharing the oil (a configuration inspired by the Mini). This

iconic basic proportion was clothed in a radical but elegant body design that assured classic status for the car.

Project

Porsche 911

Client

Porsche

Designer

12/ 27/ 12 Exam ples | Aut om ot ive design | About design | Design Council

6/ 6designcouncil. or g. uk/ about - design/ Types- of - design/ Tr anspor t - Design/ Aut om ot ive- design/ Exam ples/

TweetTweet 0 0Like 0

Ferdinand Porsche/Porsche Design

Year

1956-64

The design of the 911 can be traced back to 1956 when it wasintended to be a four-seater. During its development, Ferdinand

Porsche determined that he did not want his small company to

compete with the major manufacturers and evolved his design into thetwo-seat configuration that remains today. Evolution has been the key

to the success of the car over its 40-year history. The proportion and

design of this rear-engine vehicle are so distinctive and fundamentally

pleasing that no major changes have been required. Regular evolutionary updates have kept its appearancemodern throughout the years.

Previous

© Design Council

Legal notice: By using this website you agree to be bound by our Conditions of use.The Design Council is not responsible for content on external websites linked to from this site.

ShareShare