The automotive industry has evolved progressively since the last century. However, the evolution has been more rapid over the past decade or so with the advent of many new technologies. This has had an impact on every aspect of how an automobile is built and to an extent how it feels on the road while sitting behind the steering wheel.
The changing automotive landscape has also had an effect on the design of modern cars. So when Express Drives got an opportunity to interact with Maurizio Corbi, the short but brief interaction was bound to be enlightening. Formerly associated with Pininfarina, Corbi is credited with some of the most exotic designs in modern car history including Ferrari F355 and Ferrari 550 Maranello.
In his recent visit to India, Corbi spoke about a variety of subjects from changing landscapes in the global automotive industry to designs of future cars. Here’s the excerpt from our interaction with the globally acclaimed Italian designer.
How has global automotive design evolved over the years with the advent of modern technologies?
The new design challenge today is electric vehicles, and then, autonomous vehicles, which are already out in China and the United States of America. But the question is, how much will it change the architecture? Maybe today, not too much. The new generation of connected cars is not too different from existing cars. Maybe we need more years to understand how these technologies change the shape and style of automobiles.
In continuation with the same, the global mobility industry in general, is in a transition phase now. So, switching from non-renewable to renewable sources of energy, how has that affected the approach of a designer?
One of the things is that if you see the grilles of electric cars, they are not that different from the way regular ICE cars look nowadays. So this would affect brands like Alfa, Romeo, BMW, Mercedes, which have a very prominent grill, which defines a car. And that is something, fearful to change, because now, if there is no grill of a Mercedes Benz, it’s identity changes completely.
But many of them are using a faux grill, giving it the impression of an ICE but underneath there’s nothing. So, what’s your opinion on that? What’s your take on that?
It is a challenge to put new elements that can correspond to the previous ones.
Nowadays safety has become a very critical buying factor, even in India. So have the modern safety requirements affected car designs? If so, in what ways? How have designers started to incorporate safety in their design?
There is definitely an influence, because there are international standards for safety. You can not dodge these elements. You have to navigate through it. The bigger OEMs are selling cars for everybody. If you see front collisions, especially like the designing of the bumper, now the designer is given this sort of parameter, that whatever it is, you have to follow this rule, if the vehicle hits a passenger, the collision should not be too drastic or too critical.
So, these criteria, or this requisite, are being laid down by the OEM.
Yes, the OEMs. This has nothing to do with the designer. He has no say in it. He has to follow these regulations.
Where do you see the future performance ICE cars? In addition to that, do you see Performance EVs replacing these vehicles in the future?
There is a future, because Lamborghini and Ferrari, for example, you can’t comprehend a Ferrari or Lamborghini, if it is an electric vehicle. There is always a market for it and there will always be a market for it. The second question you asked was regarding electric mobility. It’s never going to be like either this or that. It is probably going to be both of these together, depending on the situation. So, if you are using an electric car, probably within the city, an electric car is great. If you are talking about performance, then obviously you have ICEs to cater to.
Any word of advice for budding automotive designers?
This depends on how passionate someone is about doing it. Ultimately, without passion, I think automobile design is very difficult. There are multiple schools, places to study car designs. So, I think, there are a lot of opportunities but the driving force is the passion within.
Any thoughts on UPES School of Design? How was your experience?
It was a great experience interacting with the talented students at UPES. While they excel at problem-solving, I encourage them to express their artistic selves more through design, creating a strong visual language driven by passion and identity. Also, today, the discussions with industry peers on innovation and future trends have been insightful, and I hope these ideas inspire the next generation of designers to embrace both creativity and functionality.
