Autoblog

Any regular reader of Autoblog should know that the major automakers aren't the only ones unveiling striking new concept cars. In fact, independent designers tend to create even more exciting concepts than the big boys. All the more so for design students who give us a preview of what the future holds for creative automotive design. This year the graduate students at the Instituto Europeo di Design (we'll let you decipher the translation yourself) are coming to Geneva with a full-size concept Maserati.

The Chicane concept you see above is a take on what the anticipated upcoming entry-level Maserati sports coupe could look like. Like the GranTurismo, the Chicane is a 2+2 with a front-mounted V8 driving the rear wheels, but while it retains certain Maserati design elements, the IED students have done away with some of the elegance of the GranTurismo in favor of more sportiness: at 4.4 meters long, it's some 400mm shorter than the Pininfarina-designed GT, and it ditches the chrome for a more menacing look. We particularly like the recessed headlights.

[Source: Car Body Design]

The design for the Chicane was penned by Dmytro Zyubyairov (Ukraine) and Oscar Palladino (Italy), and was chosen from among 17 design proposals by a jury that included Maserati's and Fiat AG's chief designers. The IED display at the upcoming Geneva show will also include a video of a second Maserati concept called the Sfida, a 2+1 shooting brake, as well as three Toyota design projects.