Slavche Tanevski, a Macedonian student studying at the Munich University of Applied Sciences, has created this unique and stunning Lamborghini Ankonian concept for the theme “Raw Materials”.  The term “Ankonian” comes from the name of a type of bull with black hair; quite fitting for this ferocious beast of a concept.  Carrying over the Reventon’s angular styling theme, Tanevski updated it by adding smooth surfaces to the mix, as if the soft body of the beast was shielded by armor.

Focusing on the emotional aspect (using the terms “underground” and “hard core” as a basis) the vehicle does away with the recent trend of making everything green: this is a pure sports supercar designed to own the road, using a gripping proportion that emphasizes the silhouette and extremities of the vehicle.

For more information and visuals of the project’s development, including sketches, research, and clay model mock-ups, visit Tanevski’s Deviant Art page, as well as the great write-up by our friends over at CarDesign.ru.

Thanks to Slavche for the images & info!

Designer James Trim, a recent graduate from Coventry University, sent along images of his latest creation to us: the Aston Martin Volare concept.  The vehicle, a two-seater electric, retains Aston’s traditional engine sound and iconic silhouette in efforts to maintain the legacy of the vehicle’s family lineage of sexy supercars.

Styling-wise, Trim has brought to the Volare an updated look for Aston: crips lines, solid front grille, and unique “flexible” fenders that reveal daytime running lights when their shape is altered.  Aston is, in most respects, a highly conservative car company.  What Trim has done is leveraged that while at the same time adding in updates that bring the brand into modern times without damaging the heritage with gawdy futurism.

Follow the link below for more sketches, images of the final model, and the full description of the vehicle.

[ Thanks, James!]

Name: James Trim
Education: 2009 graduate from Coventry University
Degree: Automotive Design
Website: www.jamestrim.co.uk
Concept: The Aston Martin Volare

The principle concern being confronted by Aston Martin is the harmful impact their cars are having on the environment. With this in mind, the Aston Martin Volare retains the fantastic sound and outright performance customary with that of a petrol equivalent, but would provide drivers the world over with equal amounts of guilt free motoring.

The two-seater Volare adopts a high-power fuel cell stack, located between the front seats, a rear mounted battery pack, and a co-axial electric motor at the front. To aid the Volare’s weight distribution, the two hydrogen storage tanks have been positioned directly above the car’s rear axle.

“Aesthetically the vehicle sharpens up the familiar Aston Martin proportions, with much crisper shoulders and a noticeable ‘floating’ rear deck. The solid front grille was inspired by the older V8 Vantage, while the flexible front fenders can alter their shape to reveal daytime running lights or full headlamps.”

The underlying aim when designing the Volare was to combine present day technologies with the profile of a car that would be instantaneously recognisable as that of an Aston Martin.

Industrial Design student Dragos Prodan has created an A-BAT for Fiat.  The concept, dubbed the Sentiero, is a part of Prodan’s final work as a graduate of George Enescu University in Romania.

Citing the possibility for Fiat to expand its line-up into utilitarian vehicles, Prodan looked at the company’s design & styling legacy to create the vehicle.  The compact European pick-up offers storage and utility options galore, cuddled by the strong styling aspects that Prodan wishes would help give the vehicle its own identity.

While the styling does have that Italian flavor there are a few instances of German-infused cues, such as the giant Audi-like grill and headlamps.  The strong undercut line on the side of the body creates a bit of an awkward intersection over the rear fender but does give it something fresh as a styling graphic.  There is a deliberate mix of hard chamfers and soft curves, which give it the appearance of wind passing over the utilitarian truck’s body.

More images can be found on Diseno-art.com

3D modeler/designer Mihai Aron has been creating industrial designs that mimic folded paper, translating the look into vehicles and products.  His latest is a Lamborghini concept, dubbed the Alcaldes (“a mayor or chief magistrate of a Spanish town”, thank you TheFreeDictionary), is a sexy beast in the style of many modern Lambos: edgy, threatening, and glossy black.

The amount of jaggies around specific areas (like the wheel arches) can be a little overboard, but the vehicle definitely has that Lambo stance.

Take a look at the full spread of images of the concept in his portfolio.

That there is a half-car/half-helicopter hybrid concept developed by ZEEP Design.  Have flying cars finally arrived?  Well, no.  However ZEEP has created a concept that is very much a Transformers 3-worthy addition, converting from a car to a helicopter and back.  The rear proppeller utilizes magic to descend and become the rear tire as the front “hub” spins forward.  The design is extremely basic and geometric, consisting of little more than some extruded shapes and fancy kinematics.

Impractical? Yes.  Cool?  Possibly.

We’ll reserve judgement until flying cars become a reality… in the year two thousannnnnnnd!

[Images courtesy zeepdesign.com]

Never the company to ignore students, Autodesk’s ALIAS division has created and ran a web community for students.  The site contains downloads, demos, career opportunities and preparation, students blogs and community message boards.

Whew.

If you’re a student looking to better your ALIAS skills, or just to connect with other designers, take a look.

Find it here: Autodesk Student Community

Here is round 2 from the CIA Spring Show.  Enjoy!!

The Cleveland Institute of Art Automotive students put on a great show this year with a wide array of talent and skill sets.  The work had a nice range from production ready concepts all the way to futuristic / entertainment designs.  The show took place at the Peter B. Lewis Building on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.  This building was designed by Frank Gehry and was quite an atmosphere to have a design show.  The work shown was some of the best in years.  Best of luck to the students in this hard time of finding design jobs.

If anyone has interest in the work shown and would like to inquire about the newly graduated, contact us and we can get you connected.  There was a lot of work to look at so there will be two posts for the show. This way we won’t slow down the page loading.

Check back later for round 2.

More pics after the jump…..

Leave it to us automotive designers to rediscover the heritage of automakers through fun school/freelance projects!  Jason Battersby, an industrial designer out of Canada, has dived (diven?) into the history of Lamborghini to uncover its sordid FARM-EQUIPMENT (GASP!) past!  Battersby brought that full-circle in his concept for a modern Lambo tractor, named the Toro.  Including all of the naughty bits of the Lambo aesthetic, the vehicle certainly appears as if it will be the fastest tractor on the lot.  Of note, take a gander at the sweet theme exploration sketches leading up to the actual 3-D surface (and paper model).

Images below and after the break.

All images courtesy Jason Battersby

The one thing we can always count on in Japanese design is that aesthetics are important not only in the design industry, but also in the lifestyle of the citizens.  From the culinary arts, to religion, to fashion, the visual aspect of life is an important part of Japanese culture.  How a food is presented is just as important as how it tastes, if not more.  It is then important to note how much aesthetics are important in the automotive industry of Japan.

Leon, an automotive design student at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia, has broken down the basic principles of Japanese aesthetics, and how they can help us better understand and work to Japanese design.  Read the excerpt and follow the link for the full article.

Below are (one of the) four main aesthetic ideals/principles and their relevance to the nature of design and form:

WABI-SABI:

The aesthetic defined as the beauty of things “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”.  This is the main principle that defines the way in which Japanese people view and design their material world. This ideal can be applied to all living and innanimate things in that it speaks of the transience of things- nothing is permanent and this is reflected in a Japanese person’s preference for something that is in bud or in decay as opposed to something that is in full bloom.

The full article can be found at Vehicle for Change