Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Ken Okuyama Design takes over at former Mercedes Advanced Design studio in Irvine]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/#commentsFiled under: ,


K07 - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Anybody can start sketching cars in their basement and call themselves a design studio. Of course it helps if you've got the clout and experience that comes with having steered an established coachbuilder like Pininfarina. But if you're going to make a dent in the increasingly troubled independent automotive design community, you're going to need a fancy facility to make it all happen. And that's just what Ken Okuyama has done.

The former Pininfarina chief stylist, since turned independent, has established an American arm to his expanding design enterprise, and they've set up shop at what used to be the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design studio (which in turn moved into Chrysler's former Pacifica Advanced Design Center in Carlsbad). The facility at 17742 Cowan Street in Irvine, California, (close to the line with Newport Beach) was purpose-built by Mercedes and boasts some 13,500 square feet of space right in the heart of Southern California's automotive design epicenter. While Okuyama himself will presumably continue to work from his headquarters in Italy, he's assembled a crackerjack team to lead the American studio, including Neil Brooker, Michael Castiglione and Stuart Macey - the team credited with such work as the Porsche Carrera GT and Dodge Challenger, designs which clearly speak for themselves. In addition to automotive design, the crew at Ken Okuyama Design USA will be working on furniture, eyewear and mass transit, among other things, as well as a custom coach-building operation to allow discerning (read: filthy rich) customers create their own one-of-a-kind rides. We'll expect to see more from the studio in the near future.


Gallery: K.O. 7 and K.O. 8


[Source: Car Design News]

Ken Okuyama Design takes over at former Mercedes Advanced Design studio in Irvine originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>californiadesigndesign studioDesignStudiofacilityirvineirvine californiaIrvineCaliforniaken okuyamaken okuyama designken okuyama design usaKenOkuyamaKenOkuyamaDesignKenOkuyamaDesignUsamercedes-benz advanced designMercedes-benzAdvancedDesignokuyamastudioThu, 04 Jun 2009 07:58:00 EST<![CDATA[Ken Okuyama 7 going in to production]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/18/ken-okuyama-7-going-in-to-production/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/18/ken-okuyama-7-going-in-to-production/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/09/18/ken-okuyama-7-going-in-to-production/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Click above for a high-res gallery of the K.07 Spyder

When the K.O7 Spyder broke cover in Geneva we were struck by its bold design (it was penned by the guy who gave us the Enzo and the Quattroporte), but seriously doubted that the track star/supercar would ever see production. Well, a limited run of 99 K.O7s will go on sale on November 1st for the princely sum of 19,500,000 Yen. Yep, that's near-as-makes-no-difference $200,000 -- an awful lot of money for very little car.

And when you consider that it's essentially a modern remake of the fenderless Lotus 340R, which itself seemed expensive back in 2000 at $70,000, you've got to wonder how many more orders Okuyama-san will be taking beyond the 24 cars pre-ordered by Tag-Heuer, who've had a hand in the project since its inception just a year ago. You may remember that the Lotus 340R never reached its performance target of 340 bhp/ton, largely because it was powered by Rover's asthmatic K-series engine. This is why three-hundred and forty 340Rs were built -- the number had to stand for something.

Similar doubts surround the final performance figures for the 750-kg (1,653-pound) K.O7. Okuyama Design say that the good ol' Toyota 2.0-liter found in the Elise and Exige will be good for "200-240bhp", but we don't see a supercharger, nor room for one. However fast it turns out to be, it's a fine looking machine and is bound to remain exclusive.

Check out the gallery of images taken at yesterday's launch deep beneath Tokyo's streets. Note there was an K.O8 electric EV in attendance, sans batteries or electric motor, but since it took Ken just a year to get the 7 from drawing board to production, who knows... we may be back in that garage again in a year's time, reporting for AutoblogGreen.

Gallery: K07 Live from Japan


Gallery: K.O. 7 and K.O. 8

Ken Okuyama 7 going in to production originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>K.O7Ken OkuyamaKenOkuyamalaunchTAG HEUERTagHeuerThu, 18 Sep 2008 09:27:00 EST<![CDATA[Pininfarina struggling, seeks new partners]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/pininfarina-struggling-seeks-new-partners/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/pininfarina-struggling-seeks-new-partners/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/pininfarina-struggling-seeks-new-partners/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Legendary design house Pininfarina is looking for some new partners to help stop the flow of red ink. A few high-profile projects in the past several years haven't done much to diminish the losses, apparently. As much as we loved the Glickenhaus Ferrari 612 P4/5 and 612K, a couple of gorgeous one-offs couldn't possibly be enough to keep an operation of this size afloat. Although Pininfarina is also building the Alfa Romeo Brera coupe and Spider, Ford Focus Coupe Cabriolet, Mitsubishi Colt CZC, and the Volvo C70, times are tough.

The company has lost almost twice as much money so far this year as they did during the same period last year: 39.1 million euros compared to "just" 16.3 million euros for the same period in 2006. After letting Ken Okuyama get away from them and losing Lorenzo Ramaciotti to FIAT, they need to make some important decisions soon if they want to keep the house of Farina afloat. To help right the ship they've already started working with automotive consultant Roland Berger and with financial advisers, Rothschild.

The initial plan is to add manufacturing partners to help reduce Pininfarina's financial risks in this unpredictable contract manufacturing business. The brand name is golden, but it hasn't managed to attract enough projects recently. Hopefully these new advisers will be able to save this great Italian institution.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req.]

Pininfarina struggling, seeks new partners originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Ken OkuyamaKenOkuyamaLorenzo RamaciottiLorenzoRamaciottiPininfarinaRoland BergerRolandBergerRothschildTue, 13 Nov 2007 19:23:00 EST