Students on the prestigious Vehicle Design course at the Royal College of Art have been tasked with reinterpreting some of the most iconic cars ever built for this year’s Salon Privé.
Out of forty entrants to the ‘Concours of the Future’ competition, the top eleven designs will be shown at this year’s show at Syon Park, while the winner will enjoy a visit to the Zagato Design Studio in Milan, undertaking a design master class with Andrea Zagato.
Cars revisited include the Bugatti Type 35, Rolls-Royce Phantom, an Auto Union race car, and Lamborghini’s first production model, the 350GT. Other historic marques taken for inspiration include Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Peugeot, Pegaso and Zagato, although these designs are yet to be revealed.
The judging panel is led by McLaren F1 designer Peter Stevens. Peter Schreyer, who is largely credited with Kia’s recent success, and Peter Horbury, who was chief of design at Volvo before moving to Geely Group in 2011, will join him along with Giles Taylor from Rolls-Royce and Professor Dale Harrow, who heads the Vehicle Design programme.
RCA Vehicle Design alumni hold many of the most important posts in car design. Graduates from the course include Ian Callum, Peter Stevens, Gerry McGovern, Simon Cox, Dirk Van Braeckel and Peter Schreyer.
Richard Lane
