Dream – Cars of the Future Since 1950

The city of Turin has been celebrating as World Design Capital 2008 this year with a series of over 200 separate events and exhibitions. One of the highlights has been a series of three themed shows running throughout the year, entitled '20th Century', 'Speed' and 'Dream'; the final exhibition of this trilogy.

Housed at the Giovanni Agnelli Espositione - the wonderful Nervi-designed hall on Corso Massimo D'Azeglio that used to host the Salone di Torino in the 1950s - 'Dream' is a fabulous exhibition but, regrettably, one that hasn't been well publicized outside of Turin city. It was due to close this week.  

Given the significance of the exhibits, we felt it deserved a longer run since it may be a very long time until all these cars are ever gathered together again. Now, CDN can confirm that the exhibition will be extended until 28 December.

Organized into 12 galleries that lead viewers in a chronological journey, the exhibition layout starts from the relaunch of the coachbuilding industry after the Second World War, through to the rise of Ghia, Bertone and Pininfarina and right up to the latest creations shown at Geneva this year. It features 54 full-size prototypes and mock-ups on display, including scale models, original sketches and drawings from the various design studios.

The exhibition is also notable in that the individual designers behind the cars are identified and credited more widely than before. Such early maestros as Count Revelli di Beaumont, Gian Paolo Boano and Franco Scaglione are all given due credit for their contribution to the Torinese scene of the 1950s, for example.

At the entrance of the exhibition, the iconic Pininfarina Modulo of 1970 designed by Paulo Martin greets attendees, while the central piazza hall brings together some of the masterpieces of the carrozzeria such as the 1963 Bertone Testudo - designed by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro - the Italdesign Manta and Boomerang and the Pininfarina Ferrari Mythos.

Equally stunning are the examples of Gandini's masterpieces carried out while at Bertone in the 1960s. The revolutionary Lancia Stratos Prototipo, the Alfa Romeo Carabo of 1968 and Lamborghini Marzal of 1967 opened up a new post-modern way of looking at cars, based on transparency and geometric shapes such as trapeziums, triangles and hexagons.

Meanwhile, a whole hall is given over to the still-stunning Ghia Gilda Streamline X penned by Giovanni Savonuzzi, one of the first engineer/stylists to study the use of dorsal fins to increase the stability of cars. Built in 1955 by Ghia and named in honor of the American actress Rita Hayworth, it remains as an emblem of the carefree optimism of that period. This extraordinary car, now belonging to the Scott Grundfor collection in California, has been splendidly restored and returns to Turin for the first time in many decades.

The exhibition concludes with a hall featuring a series of micro cars, from the Michelotti LEM of the early 1970s to the Fiat Ecobasic of 1999. Included in this section are the original prototypes of the 1973 Fiat X1/23, the 1993 Downtown, the Pininfarina Metrocubo and Nido, the Italdesign Biga of 1992 and the Bertone Slim.

If you are an admirer of car design, this is a must-see exhibition. But be quick: it may be a very long time before all these cars are ever gathered together again under one roof.

Related Article:
Turin Dream Exhibition 2008

Exhibition Website: http://www.museoauto.it/mambo/

By Nick Hull