I’M NOT SCARED OF THE FUTURE

As a child, he sketched sports cars to fend off boredom and his fear of traffic. Today, Matteo Gentile, the new head designer of northern Italy’s Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, finds inspiration in the delicate dance of water striders.

Pupils do lots of things to avoid engaging in boring lessons. What led you to start drawing cars in the classroom?

The easy answer is that I had the drawing skills and so it was a fantastic way to spend time, but that’s not actually true. When I was a little boy, I was scared of crossing the road with my mother. Even when we were driving, I was crying from the back seat, too scared to get out of the car because I was frightened by the other cars. So maybe I wanted to fight a little trauma, I don’t know. I also used to draw animals, in particular sharks and divers, because I was fascinated by diving.

Animals and cars do have similarities, don’t they?

Of course. Cars are built by humans and reflect the body of an animal a bit. The lights are the eyes. The grill is the mouth, or it could be the nose. You’ve got a lot of similarities, of course. You can find biological shapes everywhere; after all, nature is the best designer.

Your family didn’t push you into the car industry, did they?

My father worked as a lawyer and my mother as a biologist, so the importance of cars was practically zero. I think I developed that interest because a lot of my father’s friends had very beautiful cars. As a little boy, I was probably jealous, but I had the drawing skills to compensate.

You once said you made a thousand drawings of the Jaguar XJ 220. You must have been an obsessive child!

It was my first encounter with a major sports car. My father’s office was above the Jaguar store in Rome, one of the most important Jaguar dealers. After school, I visited him quite often and always saw that car in the window. So, I developed a passion for Jaguars – just because they were easy to spot, you know. I remember the XJ 220 was like an alien for me, a massive, amazing sports car.

But clearly, it wasn’t your childhood sketches that got you into the design offices of all the major car companies.

Even 20 years ago, automobile design was not as recognised as it is now. Now, we have plenty of design schools that offer amazing courses, and the field is acknowledged as a discipline and a profession. When I started university in Rome, I still had to study something called transportation design, which, for some reason, was very focused on boats. So, I had to look beyond Italy to find my path.

How come? Just thinking about classics like the Ferrari 250 GTO, the Lamborghini Miura or even the 33 Stradale by Alfa Romeo. Studios like Pininfarina, Bertone or Carrozzeria Touring have played such important roles over the past few decades, haven’t they?

I can’t say for sure. It is indeed kind of strange because Italy is one of the countries that has contribut-ed a lot to car design over the years.

Bugatti, Lamborghini, Lotus – your career path reads like a who’s who of ultra-iconic sports cars. Is that the supreme discipline as a car designer?

Of course, a sports car will always look amazing to most people. But honestly, it’s way easier to impress with a sport car than, let’s say, the B-segment. When the car is very low, almost 6 metres long, 2 metres wide and you have 22-inch wheels, it’ll be impressive no matter what. But with a small car, that’s where you see a designer’s real skills.

Not every sports car design is equally impressive. The Porsche 911, for example, is often considered the quintessential sports car shape. How difficult is it to create iconic designs?

I don’t think it’s the design itself that makes something iconic. It’s time and people. Of course, there are some basic rules, but they are driven by technology and engineering.

Form follows function, as designers like to put it …

Absolutely. If not, it’s cosmetics – and that’s not design. The 911, for example, was driven by a specific engineering and packaging architecture. You know what the most important element in a car is? The passengers. That’s why cars, in general, aren’t changing too much in their shapes. For the classic Porsche, you have two people, two seats. The engine is boxed in the back, and the luggage compartment in the front. That determines the proportions, leaving less room to work with for the final design.

I wanted to ask you how you manage to make speed and power tangible in a car design. Or is this a silly question?

Not at all. Think about what a powerful athlete looks like. For me, somebody who displays power often has a prominent neck – maybe from boxing or doing a lot of planks, and so on. Even if the engine is what makes a car muscular, you want to give the car a powerful look by sculpting a heavy shoulder above the rear wheels. Translating speed is a different challenge. If you ask me, I see a lot of lines that suggest motion, like a blur. You want to give a car speed? Well, design a line that goes from the front to the back – and you’ll have something that’s interpreted as a speedy design. Another key component that conveys speed is the shape of the cabin. A very dynamic shape for that is the teardrop, which, by the way, is also found in nature.

You’ve described the 1980s as the golden age of Italian sports car design. Is that a nostalgic view of your childhood, or is there more to it?

You can probably find the reason in my childhood. It’s the same reason why I prefer the PlayStation from the 90s. I don’t even play the new one.

Is that all there is to it?

Well, the designs from that era are also very easy to understand. Straightforward, simple shapes, well balanced proportions, no Rococo or extremes. They tended to keep things basic.

Chris Bangle, who now runs his own design company in northern Italy, defines the golden age of Italian car design even more broadly – from the 1950s to the 1980s. He gave three reasons: First, Italian car designers of this era were career changers – they were mostly architects or engineers. Second, technical drawing – the piano di forma – was at the heart of the design process, created by a highly specialized draftsman, the profilista. And -finally, the models were made of plaster, allowing for much sharper, precise lines than working with clay, which is used nowadays. For Bangle, the result was a remarkable clarity in Italian car design. Do you agree?

From my point of view, a key difference was that you didn’t have such a high saturation of cars. Production levels were much lower back then, and starting something new always carries a certain magic. But today is still a good time for a car designer. The ‘career-changer’ argument may be true, but what he describes as profiling is essentially a modern car designer’s sketch. Of course, our tools have changed. The computer has opened up many ways to develop objects in totally different ways, and probably this is the reason why there has been so much progress. We are children of our time, and designers today use other kinds of techniques that make them so much faster. Plaster sculpting was a beautiful thing, of course. But it would be far too expensive today.

Why do people speak of those days with so much love?

We idealize the past. The past is always better because we don’t know the future and we complain about the present. Personally, I’m not scared of the future. But I feel a bit of nostalgia when I see cars from my childhood days. A Ferrari F40 is not just a Ferrari F40. It’s part of my life. It’s not the objects, as we said before, it’s more about the stories and people around the objects that make them desirable.

This also shows in the list of your favourite cars: the Jaguar XJS in Telesto Grey, the Porsche 993 Turbo S in Racing Yellow, the Ferrari 456 in Blu Notte, with silver wheels and a beige leather interior, the Lancia Stratos HF in Zenith livery and with magnesium wheels – but also the Aston Martin DB5 in 007’s iconic configuration, finished in Silver Birch. We’ve already talked about the Jaguar. Can you tell us more about the rest of this list?

The 993 is simply my favourite Porsche. I like its muscular shape. It’s something intrinsic, something in your subconscious that makes you like this car. The Turbo S: I love the spoiler. Racing Yellow: I got this as a model for my ninth birthday. I still have it, and I still like it. With the 456, it’s same story: My uncle gave me a little Burago Model in 1:18 in Blue Notte and it had a beige leather interior and silver wheels. So that’s the reason why I like it. The Lancia Stratos: that’s really a mature and modern decision. It has that hypnotic trompe-l’oeil design that fascinates me. From above, it looks like a teardrop, but because of the position of the A column it feels totally balanced from inside, like a classic GT. And the DB? Well, it’s part of Touring Superleggera with all the elegance – and it’s famously associated with James Bond. And once again, the object itself has no value without the people behind it.

Maths, statics, art history, physics – these were your subjects in university when you studied design. Do you still benefit from them?

I don’t believe one should only focus on one topic, especially if you’re a creative mind. I base my creativity and my knowledge on observation. So, I think observation is the key to creativity because it’s impossible to invent something new from nothing. You mix the cocktail of what you observe to create something new. But to try and answer your question, when I was studying, those subjects were probably not too interesting for me. But of course, I think that a creative mind should constantly nurture their knowledge.

How would you do that today?

Just yesterday, I was at a small lake. There was an insect walking on the water. Its legs were going up and down, opening and closing – stabilizing its direction. While my wife was reading a book, I imagined a machine with maybe a foil that could become a new kind of vessel. All in chrome. I was even thinking about how to build it in my 3D software. This was a perfect example of how my mind works from observation.

Why is Superleggera a good place for you to work as a creative?

That’s an easy one. First, we build everything from scratch. Second, we have a fantastic heritage and portfolio, so I have a lot of references. You probably know from other creative people that they often need boundaries within which they can move. Total freedom overwhelms creative minds.

Designing small series based on existing models implies a certain limitation of possibilities, doesn’t it? Can you explain the challenges – and opportunities?

In a small series, your handwriting as a designer is more present than in a one-off because you don’t have the customer ruling the roost and telling you about this or that. On the other hand, you can work more creatively with Superleggera and have a faster development than in a large company – simply because of production speed and the limited number of units in a small series. It’s a cool job for a designer here.

What is Superleggera all about?

We operate with a very limited number of cars. Every project is very special. Especially with the one-offs, we offer our customers a journey. If you really want to design something decent with the help of specialists, you can find those specialists here. And we not only excel in technical and scientifical aspects but also in understanding and listening to the person in front of us to develop something truly unique. I’m starting to repeat myself, but an object without people behind it and without a story is just material.

Felice Anderloni, founder of the historic Carrozzeria Touring in the 1920s, reportedly once said, “Weight is the enemy, aerodynamic resistance is the obstacle.” Not that much has changed since then, has it?

You’re right. It’s part of our DNA. Touring was famous for the system known as Superleggera Technology. It’s not an impressive technology anymore. It has its origins before the Second World War, so it's not rocket science nowadays.

It’s noticeable that there are hardly any super sports cars among the donor cars you use. Why?

It’s not my mission to win a race against Porsche or Ferrari. We’re designing cars with glamour, elegance and sophistication. We’re building cars for people who enjoy driving. By the way, the perfect spot to enjoy a ride in one of our cars is Lake Como – it’s simply beautiful.

This blend of past and present can also be found in your latest project. How do you decide which elements remain true to the original and which are to be completely modernised?

In the new Superleggera V12, for example, we retained the windows from the original, while the outer skin was completely replaced with carbon. We basically thought about how the original car, which was built around 20 years ago, could look like in 2024. We ended up with a design that was not technically possible 20 years ago.

But you didn’t touch the engine.

The V12 with the manual shift is why people go crazy for the original model – and our version. So, of course, we didn’t touch it.

What’s your dream donor car for the next project you’re going to design for the anniversary?

It’s a secret for now. It should definitely be a Gran Turismo, with the engine in front, room for two passengers, and enough space for two golf bags in the back. And it should be neither too old nor too young – from 2006 would be nice.

How involved are your customers in the design process at Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera? How are customer wishes and ideas incorporated into the final design?

Our process starts with a workshop. We spend hours scouting references together – this is where every-thing starts. It’s a collaboration involving myself, my team and the future owner, and we start a symbiotic relationship. We spend most of the time discussing other things beyond the design itself. So over about six months, we develop something of a friendship, exchanging books, and so on. That’s the level.

Are there any memorable moments or collaborations with customers that stand out?

At the moment, there are two customers I really enjoy working with. One is very classic and very elegant, while the other is younger and very creative. It’s amazing to see how the cars will turn out differently just through the colours and decisions made with each future owner – though it’ll basically be the same model for the two of them.

When you described your favourite vehicles, you specified the paint colour and special interior features. What makes these soft factors so important?

When buying something new like a dress or clothes, the colour is crucial. How many times have you walked into a shop and decided against a purchase because they didn’t have the colour you wanted? Colour and fabrics resonate with us on an emotional level.

What are your predictions for the future of automotive design, particularly in the luxury and bespoke sectors? What trends and innovations do you foresee in years to come?

It would be very arrogant of me to predict that.

Please be arrogant!

In a world full of digital interaction and the level of saturation of literally everything we have reached – from cars to news to objects like smart phones, and images and videos in particular – a genuine connection with a real person has become rare and precious. So, meaningful interaction with our customers will always be crucial in the future. We simply have to share our passion for cars with their owners. Not everyone offers this.

Why are people so hyped about cars with real engines but not about electric cars?

We are children of our era. Of course, there’s an element of nostalgia. But personally, I think a V12 engine really is cooler than a black box. You have all these shiny parts and components. And we all simply love the smell of fuel, don’t we?

What are your favorite cars to drive these days?

I love to drive all the cars I mentioned earlier. But despite my huge love for cars, I don’t have a car at the moment. I used to have a motorbike I really liked but I sold it. My wife literally told me that I had to make a decision. It was her or the bike. What can you do?