Plymouth: Duster 360 Sew/iron On Patch Badge Emblem Embroidered Mopar Hemi Car on 2040-parts.com

Future Fiat 500 and Fiat Panda imagined by design students

Students at the Royal College of Art in London were challenged to redesign the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Panda for the year 2020. Part of Fiat's "Two of a Kind" design training experience stretching out over three months, the competition attracted more than 50 entries. The design challenge was more than a competition to design the most effective exterior, as students were divided into several interdisciplinary teams and tasked with developing new solutions for the interiors and exteriors of both cars, integrating such concepts as interactivity, sustainability and global appeal into their designs.

IFR Aspid strikes Spanish gold

By Tom Richards Motor Industry 08 August 2008 13:32 More than 100 potential IFR Aspid customers have signed up for a two-day test drive following the new two-seater sports car's unveiling at the London motor show last month. Now the Spanish manufacturer is seeking to create an international dealer network.The Aspid has been in secret development for five years, with IFR working hard on making it relevant to the needs to the 21st century. Although there are no definite CO2 figures, a kerbweight of 700kg means the Aspid should be capable 56.4mpg, they say. The chassis and suspension are aluminium, while the bodywork is carbonfibre and the brakes are made from stainless steel. Definitely.

Worth a read: Wired's 'Why Getting It Wrong Is the Future of Design'

Wired has just published a series of short articles entitled 13 Lessons for Design's New Golden Age. While there are some interesting examples cited in the piece, the concluding article, ‘Why Getting It Wrong Is the Future of Design' by the former creative director of Wired magazine, Scott Dadich, feels like it has particular resonance for car design. Dadich's Wrong Theory uses disruptive examples from the world of art, plus his own experience of working at Wired, to explain how design goes through phases: establishing a direction, creating a set of rules that define that direction and finally someone who dares to break from that direction.