Ford, BMW, Mini. The top styling jobs at Maserati, Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, then leading McLaren’s design journey from a standing start to the dawn of an entirely new product cycle. Frank Stephenson has some CV.
Unfettered by the birth of Frank Stephenson Design in 2018, the 62-year-old American’s current projects are intriguingly diverse, extending well beyond the automotive world.
So we wanted to know what views this unique perspective would lend to the armchair designer topics du jour. Should electric cars look different from fossil-burners? What four-wheeled artistry can I buy on a budget? And, not unimportantly, are SUVs inherently ugly?
As the constraints of internal combustion engine packaging fade, how might car design evolve?
“The EV world will change everything we know about interior packaging. When you start reducing the powerplants, you’re going to open up a lot of room inside the vehicle, which should be used to maximum effect. You have to start radically changing the architecture. Family vehicles will have a lot more comfort. Perceived space is comforting: that’s why people fly first class.
“And that will reflect in the exterior design. When designing the new Mini in 1995, I did a sketch that was 10 years ahead of the [2000] car. I completely changed the architecture with an electric motor in the front but tried to keep the Mini look. The length stayed the same but it had super-short overhangs that really helped with the interior. That’s how I think cars will become: one-or one-and-a-half-box designs, rather than two- or three-box, like a sedan. Wheels will be pushed out to the corners and you will get a blunter front end. Then it’s the designer’s job to make it look exciting.
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Some good stuff, but Saab 9-3? Of all the Saabs you could choose that is the blandest peice of design of the lot.
And the BMW x5 is one anti-social design, i hate it with a vengance. the sheer rea-end bulk of it was a big f-you to most other things on the road. It's a cartoon.
"designers learn what good design is and what bad design is, and if somebody outside of our circle says ‘that looks great, that’s good design’, then from a trained point of view we can tell them ‘no, you’re wrong’."
A good design is what works for the individual, not what we're told.
'I like X' doesn't always coincide with 'X is beautiful'
'I like X' is what works for you, even in the case when the general consensus is 'X is not beautiful'
However, if you are an influential critic or designer in the position to rewrite the rule book, then 'I like X' becomes 'X is beautiful'
History is written by winners.
A really interesting read, thanks Autocar. Refreshing to hear the designer of the P1 seems to love all car design, not just the pricey stuff. Looking at some of the comments below, I think both the first and second generation X5s are really nice designs. Though I'm not an SUV fan, there is something just right about the proportions. And the DBX is infintely nicer to look at than the Urus. I was never that keen on the original new Mini though. They improved it with the mid-life refresh but I prefer the second generation. As for the ID3, I think it's a case of nearly but not quite. There are interesting elements but also clumsy ones like the big black panel at the top of the bonnet and I find the back end is a bit heavy.