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Design student found guilty of blackmailing high profile car designers

Merritt Johnson — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:32:00 EST

Engineers and marketing specialists invariably inject reality into a designer's original vision before it ever hits the streets. Despite these intrinsic modifications, one former design student claimed he created the original inspiration for the Mazda RX8, Audi TT, BMW Z3 and Volvo XC90. Guy Lloyd-Parker believed the vehicles were spawned from some of the 95 drawings that were stolen from him by college lecturers at The London College of Fashion in 1994. After Mr. Lloyd-Parker was unsuccessful in receiving compensation from the college, he went after the top designers at each of the above mentioned automobile manufacturers. He sent threatening letters to Tsutomu Matano (formerly of Mazda), Geza Loczi (Design Director of Volvo), and Henrik Fisker (formerly of BMW and currently associated with Aston Martin and his own bespoke company). The mailings, titled "The Truth," demanded large sums of money in exchange for withholding "the whole truth" from the media. The letters also called the designers "liars, thieves and cheats." Now it looks like the real truth has been revealed as Guy Lloyd-Parker has been found guilty of three accounts of blackmail.

[Source: Car Design News]

Design student found guilty of blackmailing high profile car designers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Student-penned Lamborghini LM400 Concept

John Neff — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:33:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, SUV, Lamborghini

click above image to view more pics of the Lamborghini LM400 Concept

The original Lamborghini LM002 combined the qualities of a HUMMER (before there really was HUMMER) with a level of power and performance one would expect from a Italian exotic. It eschewed actual design for a slab-sided, utilitarian look, with a pair of round headlights that toned down its aggression so it looked safe to pet without getting bitten.

Of course, the LM002 missed out on the big SUV boom that saw luxury, high-performance SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne padding its parent company's pockets with big profits. But now that SUVs are truly mainstream and Lamborghini finds itself under the care of VW/Audi, design student Rene Harrigan thought it might be time to reconsider bringing this beast back to life. His idea, called the LM400 Concept, updates the old bruiser with a new Lamborghini-esque design that sits on an Audi Q7 platform. We like Harrigan's vision from the A-pillar back, but the front end lacks a strong visual connection with current Lambos and looks too anonymous to wear a Raging Bull badge. He says the LM400 would be powered by various V8, V10 and V12 engines plucked from the corporate parts bin, and be offered in four trim levels: the LM V8, sporty LM-S, luxurious LM400 V10 and the obscene LMR that sports a 600-hp V12.

The idea of a new LM for Lamborghini is fun, but in reality would say something about how far the brand has come from its many trips to the edge. Porsche got away with offering an SUV and not alienating its fanbase too much, so perhaps Lamborghini could do the same.

[Source: CarBodyDesign via CarScoop]

Gallery: Lamborghini LM400 Concept

Student-penned Lamborghini LM400 Concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audi A2 design focus

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:43:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Audi

With Audi's reputation for beautiful design, it's not surprising that many freelance designers and design students choose Audi as the subject of their design projects. Because of this, Audi wünderboard, Fourtitude, has begun a series of articles "focusing on an independent take on Audi design." Sometimes people outside Audi's design studios come up with an interesting idea or direction that may be different from Audi's internal design language, and this offers a venue to share. For its first subject in the series, design student Luis Camino offers his take on the much-rumored next-generation Audi A2 (or A1, depending on who you ask).

Currently working on his transportation design degree at the Academy of Art University of San Francisco, Luis Camino also happens to run several websites, including one focused on car design and his education. Camino notes that his love for Audi is pretty obvious once you visit his sites, as Audi designs dominate. His drawings here are some sketches of the much-rumored MINI competitor, the Audi A1. We tend to agree with Fourtitude when they say Camino's drawings look more like an Audi design than most of the digital renderings we've seen. More evolution than revolution, they represent a tasteful execution of the Audi look on this small platform. Slightly retro, but using much of the Shooting Brake concept, it manages to incorporate the features that make competitors such as Volvo's C30, Renault's Megane and the MINI successful, while giving it a uniquely Audi look. More images and insight into the design process available by following the read link.

[Source: Fourtitude]

Audi A2 design focus originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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