Italian Design Students Get Real-World Assignment Combining Chrysler, Fiat
October 30, 2009
While Chrysler and Fiat designers were working quietly behind the scenes to jointly develop 
new models, transportation design students in Italy were doing the same.
The two final vehicles selected by the students to develop into models have been revealed. Perhaps Chrysler will hint at its work with Fiat next week when the American automaker rolls out its five-year plan.
The 37 students in their second year of the three-year car design course at IED Turin in Italy were given the assignment to design vehicles that combined the best technical know-how, the platforms and the values of the Fiat and Chrysler brands.
Interestingly, they started the project in February -- months before Fiat took a 20-percent stake in Chrysler after it went into and out bankruptcy. The students' project started with a visit to the Fiat style center. They completed their assignment in July.
The students next wrote and presented a brief to describe their vision and their thoughts of how the two brands together might develop. Their ideas combined the style, the economic accessibility and the low environmental impact of Fiat vehicles with new platforms and the industrial and production capacity of Chrysler. They were designed to be sold in both Europe and North America.
The 37 ideas developed individually were winnowed to 13 with two chosen to be produced in scale model form.
Student Vasily Kurkov designed a vehicle called the Pygmy Jeep. It rides on the platform of the Fiat Panda Cross 4X4 but is infused with the Jeep spirit. The two seater offers the owners a variety of options; it can be transformed into a vehicle for around town or a sports Jeep in the vein of a world rally car. The interior combines certain fashion and retro features with high-tech details for a sense of luxury and quality.
Student Roberto Testolin created the Biov, an A-segment vehicle designed to reduce production costs, be ecologically friendly and aimed at youth with environmental sensibilities. The limited number of surfaces are easy to produce and lightweight. They are assembled by a system of layering to reduce complexity and engineering costs.
"The union of the Fiat and Chrysler brands brings with it the potential to find an adequate answer to this question," said Cesar Mendoza, IED Turin director. "To get students to work on such an up-to-date issue, even before the official announcement of the agreement, has proven to be a real challenge for our college."
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:49 AM under Chrysler , Companies | Comments (1) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
These are the best of 37 designs. It would be fascinating to read excerpts from their briefs on their take of the merger.
Posted by: fulcrumb | October 30, 2009 at 4:08 PM