The concept is the Sofia sedan from the I.DE.A Institute. The design firm is based in Moncalieri on the outskirts of Turin and has grown to become a supplier of a whole range of new vehicle development activities, from styling to full scale model building, engineering, running prototype construction and manufacturing engineering.

The Sofia is a four-seater sedan with couple-like styling and is designed around a hybrid powertrain. Influences have been taken from past Italian cars as well as the curvature of the female body but sadly, the concept is purely a design exercise and isn’t headed to production in any form.

According to the I.DE.A Institute’s chairman, Pietro Lardini, the Sofia shows the firm’s unique design philosophy as well as the talents its employees. Lardini also revealed that the I.DE.A Institute is now in preparation to start working closely with major automakers in Europe, Asia and South America.

Source:motorauthority.com

BMW logo

There’s no denying that BMW’s cars, especially models like the previous 7-Series and Z4, have stepped up their game recently in the looks department lately, even going so far as to influence automotive design across the globe and across the brand spectrum. That change is mostly thanks to Chris Bangle, who resigned from the German automaker earlier this year to focus on his own pursuits, but other unnamed figures have also played an important role in BMW design over the past several decades.

One of them is Laurenz Schaffer, who has worked at BMW for the past 11 years. Formerly at the Munich branch of BMW’s acquired DesignworksUSA, Schaffer will now head the design firm’s American studio in California.

Schaffer is actually replacing Verena Kloos as president of DesignworksUSA. Kloos will be returning to Germany to take control of BMW’s context design and advanced development division in Munich.

While the design firm is not just pigeonholed to the auto industry, its influences can be seen in BMW’s cars. For example, a former director is Adrian van Hooydonk who is now the chief of design at the German automaker.

Source:motorauthority.com