Lone Stars: the Zero Years
22 July 2023 3 min read 5 images
Automotive design milestones are often one-offs. Lorenzo Ramaciotti guides us through a remarkable story.
Throughout the history of the automobile, there have been numerous lone stars which, when you take a look at them today, continue to shine with their own light. None of them were created to become production cars, but rather to send out a message that was uninhibited by industrial and marketing constraints, signed by designers and the manufacturers themselves. Here comes the next part of our series on Lone Stars, based on intensive conversations with renowned Italian designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti: the Zero Years.
The expressive freedom of the previous decade continued, with the Japanese style largely defined as origami returning once again along with a more nostalgic one. This, in a broader sense, can be defined as when the manufacturers rediscovered their roots and previous design traits, and gave the public the opportunity to travel back in time to a period when the outlook for the future was more optimistic and carefree than it actually was. Prime examples here include the Fiat 500 and the Mini.
In the universe of concepts, between the idea of bringing the Miura back to life and the dream of the exquisite Alfa Romeo spiders from the past, the Maserati Birdcage was a tribute to the Modulo and other extreme prototypes from the 1960s, just as the Audi Rose-meyer reproposed the design traits of racing cars from the 1930s, with a touch of steampunk thrown in for good measure. The Cadillac Cien took a different path, using the lines of the concept to dictate the future style of the brand.
2000
The Audi Rosemeyer: This concept car reproposed the memory of a bygone era – the 1930s, to be precise – when the four circles of the Auto Union managed to break the supremacy of Mercedes-Benz. Now just as back then, the car was powered by a 16-cylinder rear-mounted engine; at the time of Ferdinand Porsche, this was a V16, while in 2000, in the years of Ferdinand Piëch, it was a W16.
2002
The Cadillac Cien: The branded “family feeling” became one of the guidelines for the conception of a model. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the luxury brand of General Motors presented the Cien and indicated the way forward for its design philosophy. Taut lines and angles introduced a new and decidedly sporty language.
2006
The Lamborghini Miura Concept: The reinterpretation of the Miura built by Walter de Silva, then-Head-Designer of the Audi Group and supervisor of Lamborghini style, could have been an attractive temptation for the Raging Bull. Presented in 2006 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the car that has become a symbol of Lamborghini, it was not further developed in order to stay true to Lamborghini’s desire to always innovate.
2010
The Pininfarina 2uettottanta: The Giulietta Sprint and Duetto are two authentic symbols of Alfa Romeo’s exquisitely happy Italian sportiness. To mark 100 years of Alfa Romeo and 80 years of Pininfarina, this beautiful creation was shown, which might bring back a sadly halted history.
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