Giugiaro: celebrating the greatest car designer of all

A car design genius

Giorgetto Giugiaro has just turned 87 years old. Sadly, the design maestro spent his birthday in hospital following a dramatic, but not life-threatening car accident near his home in Sardinia. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Incredibly, having started his career in 1955 at the age of 17, the ever-prolific Giugiaro is still designing cars and other products today. Join us as we celebrate some of his greatest works, including many you will recognise – and a few you may not.

Italian design goes global

Giugiaro started designing cars almost by accident, after one of his college professors spotted his aptitude for technical drawing. He initially joined Fiat, then was head-hunted by Bertone, the Italian coachbuilder and styling house, where his talent and career truly flourished.

In 1968, Giugiaro set up his own company, which went on to shape many of the world’s most important and influential cars. None more so, perhaps, than the original Volkswagen Golf…

Volkswagen Golf

Yes, the first car on our list is the Volkswagen Golf of 1974. Giugiaro has been quoted as saying the Golf – seen here in Mk1 GTI guise – gave him the most satisfaction, not least because it opened up a number of doors for him. Fast-forward 51 years and close to 40 million Golfs have been sold.

Lancia Megagamma concept

In 1965, Giugiaro left Bertone to join the management team at Ghia, but even then he harboured ambitions to go it alone. He did so in 1967 when a change of ownership at Ghia presented him with the perfect opportunity to jump ship. He formed Ital Styling, where he continued to work with Ghia on a freelance basis. In 1968 he formed Studio Italiano Realizzazione Prototipi – later renamed to the more memorable Italdesign – before it changed its name to Italdesign Giugiaro in 1999.

Ask a man in the street about the Lancia Megagamma concept and they have no opinion, but it was a pioneering vehicle. By using the existing Lancia Gamma platform to build something more practical, Giorgetto created what we refer to today as the MPV. It was first presented at the 1978 Turin Motor Show, a full three years prior to the launch of the Nissan Prairie. The Renault Espace – the first MPV with mass appeal – would arrive in 1984.

Fiat Panda

In 2010, Italdesign Giugiaro was swallowed up by the massive Volkswagen Group. Across the world, Italdesign Giugiaro is credited as having designed over 200 models, which resulted in 60 million cars being built. Little wonder Giorgetto Giugiaro is considered to be the very best. It’s not that his designs are outlandish and striking (although some are) it’s that the designs just work. And they also have a timeless appeal.

Take the original Fiat Panda, for which Giugiaro received a Compasso d’Oro from the Italian Association for Industrial Design. The Panda’s brilliance was its simplicity. Cheap to build, cheap to buy and cheap to maintain. Giugiaro used flat glass, simple panels, a basic dashboard design and deckchair-style seats to create an Italian car for the masses. He later designed the 4×4 version, bringing joy to hill farmers and mountain residents across Europe.

BMW M1

In 1999, Giorgetto Giugiaro won the prestigious Car Designer of the Century award in Las Vegas, having been selected by 120 journalists and experts.

The BMW M1 of 1978 was the complete antithesis of the Fiat Panda. Wild, striking and effortlessly beautiful. Sadly a mere 456 were built, making it one of the most sought-after BMWs in history.

Lotus Esprit

In 1984, Giorgetto Giugiaro was given an honorary degree by the Royal College of Art ‘in acknowledgement of the great esteem his work commands in the United Kingdom’. It’s one of seven honorary degrees awarded to the Italian designer.

James Bond would surely be listed as one of his greatest admirers. Not least because of the stunning Lotus Esprit of 1976, later to be seen in For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me. The original Esprit displayed purity and elegance: a fine example of Giorgetto making it look so easy. As it grew older, the Esprit became fatter and more bloated, proving that car design is anything but easy.

Volkswagen Scirocco

Giorgetto Giugiaro is credited with designing a total of four original Volkswagens and, in each case, we’d humbly suggest the original was the best. Take the Volkswagen Scirocco of 1974. Sure, it was based on the Mk1 Golf, which gave it a head-start, but Giugiaro injected some passion and individuality into the design. It remains one of the best looking Volkswagens in history. Absolute perfection.

DeLorean DMC-12

The story of the DeLorean DMC-12 is one of turmoil and failure. By rights, it should be largely forgotten by now. But two things saved it. One was its appearance in a certain film involving time travel. The other was its design, penned by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro. It’s not his fault the mechanicals weren’t up to much and DeLorean was essentially doomed from the start. The design has stood the test of time.

Lancia Delta

It’s amazing to think that out of this simple and rather basic design came the all-conquering Lancia Delta Integrale rally car of the 1980s. It was based on the Fiat Strada and scooped the European Car of the Year in 1980. Today, it’s all but extinct in the UK, but the HF Turbo remains a credible (and cheaper) alternative to the Integrale. That’s if you can find one. There are fewer than 150 left in Britain.

Fiat Uno

And speaking of cars you hardly see anymore… The Fiat Uno is another example of Giugiaro’s eye for a simple design that will stand the test of time. A total of 6.3 million Unos were built in Italy, with a further 2.5 million built in developing countries, helping to prolong the life of the little Fiat and provide transportation for the masses.

Maserati Bora

The Bora was Maserati’s first mid-engined car, so there was some pressure on Giugiaro to get it right. And get it right he did, because this is a terrific-looking machine. Launched at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show, the Bora was a V8-engined supercar designed to do battle with the likes of the Lamborghini Miura. Work actually started in the late 1960s, but the Bora simply oozes ’70s charm.

Alfa Romeo Brera

A classic case of a concept car made good. In 2002, Alfa Romeo presented the Giugiaro-designed Brera at the Geneva Motor Show. Such was the response from the public that Alfa Romeo had the foresight to put it into production. Sadly the Maserati-sourced V8 engine was dropped, but the styling remained.

Volkswagen Passat

You see what we mean about the classic simplicity of the original Volkswagen models? Here is the Mk1 Passat, and we could so easily have included the Mk1 Jetta, especially given its popularity in markets such as North America. But the Passat has stood the test of time, and the car has gone on to become incredibly popular.

Maserati Ghibli

Before the Bora came this, the Maserati Ghibli. At the time of its design, Giorgetto Giugiaro was still at Ghia and he created another masterpiece. It was first presented as a prototype at the 1966 Turin Motor Show, with deliveries starting in 1967. A total of 1,170 coupes were built before it went out of production in 1973, replaced by the Khamsin.

Fiat Punto

Hey, don’t knock it, the Fiat Punto is more than just a hire car you collect from the airport when on holiday. Indeed, Giorgetto Giugiaro won another Compasso d’Oro for its design. It’s actually more successful than the Panda, racking up a total of nine million sales. ‘Spirito di Punto,’ as the ads used to say.

Saab 9000

Often overlooked when compiling a list of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s greatest hits, the Saab 9000 was the result of a collaboration with Saab’s Björn Envall. The Swede also worked on the 99, 90 and the classic 900 and the GM 900. The Saab 9000 was based on the Type Four platform, which it shared with the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema. Ironically, given Giugiaro’s Italian roots, it’s the Saab that has survived in the largest numbers. Many of the Italians have died.

Mazda Familia

The majority of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s creations have been used by European carmakers, but the Mazda Familia is an exception to this rule. Giugiaro worked on the design while at Bertone, with the first production car arriving in 1963. Today, the Familia/323 remains Mazda’s most successful car of all time.

Alfa Romeo Alfasud

Many designers could retire happily knowing they had designed the body for the Alfasud. With the Sud, Alfa Romeo showed the world how a front-wheel-drive car should look and, more importantly, how it should drive. The name was derived from the Italian word for ‘south’, which was relevant because of a new factory at Pomigliano d’Arco in southern Italy. Just as well the factory wasn’t in the west of the country. ‘Alfaoccidente’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Audi 80

The Audi is so of its time. It arrived in 1978, by which time Giugiaro had already penned the designs for the Golf, Passat, Scirocco and Jetta. The 80 was a simple three-box saloon, but it moved the game on from the original 80 and laid the foundations for future generations, and indeed the current A4. It has a timeless appeal.

Seat Ibiza

Just how good does the Mk1 Seat Ibiza look today? Again, there’s nothing fancy or outlandish about the design, but it has aged far better than any future Ibizas or any other Seats for that matter. System Porsche and all that…

De Tomaso Mangusta

The little-known De Tomaso Mangusta is an absolute masterpiece. It has a backstory to match its wild styling – have we mentioned the gullwing doors over the engine and luggage compartment? It started life as a cancelled Ford project and the design was actually rejected by the now-defunct Iso company of Italy. If you’re wondering what a Mangusta is, it’s a type of mongoose that eats cobras. You can draw your own conclusions as to the choice of name.

Hyundai N Vision 74

Back in 1974, Hyundai commissioned Giugiaro to create a concept for the Turin Motor Show. The result was the wedgy and futuristic Pony Coupe. More recently, the long-lost concept was rebuilt with help from Giugiaro’s GFG Style company.

The Pony was also ‘reimagined’ as the Hyundai N Vision 74 (in the foreground here), powered by hydrogen fuel-cell technology. It’s one of the coolest concept cars of recent years.

A life well lived

Giugiaro has been amazingly prolific in his design career and he hasn’t put down his pen yet. His recent work ranges from boats to architecture, with a bit of city planning included for good measure. However, it is Giugiaro’s cars that will be his lasting legacy. The automotive world may never see his like again.