Cars & Design: Where Automotive Design Meets Technology : Episode 1
- Dimitris Schoen
- Aug 16
- 6 min read
No, this is not another Star Wars story.
At Basket, we are experimenting with a new category: Cars & Design. We are not trying to become Car and Driver, and we are certainly not interested in simply counting horsepower, acceleration times, or cupholders. Instead, this series is about something more fundamental: why cars look the way they do, how they are created, and why certain designs stay in our memories long after the engine has stopped.
Cars occupy a fascinating position between technology, engineering, art and culture. They can be practical machines, status symbols, objects of desire or, in the rarest cases, genuine works of design.
This is where Basket wants to look.
We will explore classic icons and cutting-edge machines, profile legendary designers, examine new models and investigate the ideas behind them. We will look at the technology that makes new forms possible, the compromises designers have to make, and the increasingly complicated relationship between aesthetics, performance, sustainability and usability.
For design students, we also hope this series becomes a useful source of inspiration. Automotive design offers remarkable lessons in proportion, materials, ergonomics, aerodynamics, manufacturing and visual identity. Looking at the history of the automobile is, in many ways, a lesson in the history of industrial design itself.
From engineering breakthrough to design icon
Cars have been technologically ambitious objects almost from the beginning. In 1885, Carl Benz developed what is widely regarded as the first practical automobile: a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a rear-mounted four-stroke internal-combustion engine.
More than 140 years later, the automobile has become almost unrecognisable from those early machines. Today, designers work across an extraordinary spectrum, from compact urban vehicles and sedans to SUVs, electric cars, racing machines and spectacular supercars.
Yet one thing has remained remarkably consistent: the best cars combine engineering with emotion.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Range Rover and Smart have all approached this equation differently. Some have built their identities around performance; others around luxury, practicality or urban mobility. But the strongest automotive brands understand that a car is rarely judged purely by what it does.
We also judge it by how it makes us feel.
That is why designers such as Sergio Pininfarina and Marcello Gandini became so important. Pininfarina's work on cars, including the Ferrari Testarossa and F40, showed how aerodynamic requirements and mechanical performance could become part of a car's visual language. Gandini's Lamborghini Countach, meanwhile, helped redefine what a supercar could look like, replacing traditional elegance with something sharper, more geometric and almost architectural.
Today, automotive design is entering another fascinating period. Technology companies and designers from outside the traditional car industry are increasingly influencing the automobile. The collaboration between Jony Ive and Ferrari, for example, has generated enormous interest precisely because it brings together two very different design cultures.
We had the opportunity to see the Ferrari Luce in person, and it was an intriguing experience.
When minimalism meets Ferrari
The first thing that struck me about the Luce was its restraint.
Its surfaces are remarkably clean, with crisp lines and a front end that feels simultaneously familiar and futuristic. Rather than covering the car with unnecessary visual drama, the design appears to rely on proportion, light and carefully controlled details.
The effect becomes even more interesting in changing light. The paint seems to alter subtly in tone, while the panoramic glass roof brings an unusual sense of openness to the cabin.
The interior has a certain technological minimalism, but it does not feel cold. Instead, the simplicity is presented as luxury.
Standing beside the car in outdoor parking in Montreux, I found myself thinking about how much automotive design has changed. For decades, the car industry has borrowed ideas from architecture, fashion and aeronautics. Now it is increasingly borrowing from consumer technology. If I wasn't that fond of the car at first, seeing it in real life changed my mind. I find it now quite nice.
The interesting question is whether that influence will produce the next generation of automotive icons—or simply make cars feel more like enormous pieces of consumer electronics.
That question becomes even more interesting when we turn to Lamborghini.
Lamborghini Revuelto: engineering becomes sculpture
Our first featured car is the Lamborghini Revuelto, a hybrid V12 supercar that represents an important transition for one of the world's most recognisable automotive brands.
At first glance, the Revuelto looks unmistakably Lamborghini. The proportions are dramatic, the surfaces are aggressive and the lighting signature is immediately recognisable.
The Y-shaped LED headlights are particularly effective. They are not merely decorative elements; they have become part of the car's visual identity, giving the front end an almost predatory expression.
But the real story is underneath.
The Revuelto combines a naturally aspirated V12 engine with three electric motors, producing an extraordinary 1,001 horsepower. The challenge for Lamborghini was therefore not simply to make the car faster. It was to integrate hybrid technology without destroying the proportions and visual drama that make a Lamborghini a Lamborghini.
This is where engineering becomes design.
The car uses a carbon-fibre monocoque structure—the so-called monofuselage—to increase rigidity while controlling weight. The architecture also gives Lamborghini greater freedom to work with the cabin, roofline and overall proportions.
The result is a car that appears lower, wider and more aggressive while retaining the unmistakable Lamborghini DNA.
That is an important lesson for designers: technology is most successful when it becomes invisible—or when it becomes part of the aesthetic itself.
The Revuelto does not look like a technical compromise. Its engineering is embedded in its appearance.
And then there is Aston Martin.
Aston Martin Valen: evolution rather than revolution
James Bond would probably approve.
The new Aston Martin Valen arrives with an extraordinary figure attached to it: an 838-horsepower petrol engine and a price reportedly around $2 million.
But its most interesting characteristic, at least from a design perspective, may be what Aston Martin decided not to change.
While some manufacturers are moving aggressively toward futuristic forms, Aston Martin has retained its familiar language of long proportions, elegance and restrained aggression.
This is a deliberate strategy.
Aston Martin's identity is built on heritage, craftsmanship and an idea of British luxury that does not necessarily need to shout. The Valen therefore feels like an evolution of the brand rather than an attempt to reinvent it overnight.
Inside, the same philosophy continues. High-quality materials, carefully finished surfaces and handcrafted details create an environment that feels expensive without becoming unnecessarily theatrical.
Personally, we like it.
But this is where automotive criticism becomes subjective. Does the Valen's conservative elegance make it timeless—or does a $2 million car deserve something more radical?
We would love to hear what you think.
Land Rover Defender Dakar: when function creates the form
Our final car takes us in a completely different direction.
The Land Rover Defender Dakar is essentially a road-going interpretation of a vehicle designed around extreme off-road conditions. And while At Basket, we have never been the biggest fan of SUVs, we have to admit something:
This one looks fantastic.
Part of the appeal comes from its honesty.
The Defender Dakar does not attempt to disguise its purpose. Its raised suspension, heavy-duty tyres, protective elements and aggressive stance immediately communicate that this is a vehicle designed to leave the road.
The squared-off bodywork is particularly refreshing in an era when so many new cars appear increasingly aerodynamic, rounded and almost spaceship-like.
Here, function is visible.
The raised suspension provides greater ground clearance. The specialised tyres offer additional grip and durability. Protective elements help shield important components from rocks, mud and water. Even details such as the air intake communicate that the vehicle has been designed around a particular environment rather than simply styled to look adventurous.
That distinction matters.
There is a long tradition in design of making functional objects beautiful precisely because their function is visible. The Defender follows that philosophy exceptionally well.
It looks different because it is different.
What makes a great car design?
That is ultimately the question we want to explore with Cars & Design.
Is it beauty? Performance? Innovation? Heritage? Functionality?
The answer is probably all of them—but in different proportions.
The Ferrari Luce demonstrates how ideas from technology can influence luxury-car design. The Lamborghini Revuelto shows how engineering can generate visual drama who looks wild and cool. The Aston Martin Valen demonstrates the power of a consistent brand language. And the Defender Dakar reminds us that sometimes the most convincing design is simply the design that tells the truth about what a machine is built to do.
For us, that is what makes automotive design so fascinating.
A great car is not simply a machine with four wheels.
It is an argument between technology and emotion, engineering and aesthetics, tradition and experimentation
.
And sometimes, when all those elements come together, it becomes something much more interesting :
a design icon.
Welcome to Cars & Design
References
(n.d.). Carl Benz. National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/inductees/carl-benz
(2026). Revuelto | Lamborghini.com. Lamborghini. https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/models/revuelto
Duff, M. (October 3, 2023). 2024 Lamborghini Revuelto Hybrid Supercar Links Past and Future. Car and Driver. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a45415399/2024-lamborghini-revuelto-drive/
(August 15, 2026). Meet the Aston Martin Valen - the most powerful front-engined production car it has ever produced. T3. https://www.t3.com/auto/meet-the-aston-martin-valen-the-most-powerful-front-engined-production-car-it-has-ever-produced
(January 21, 2025). Defender reveals Octa V8 twin-turbo challenger for Dakar 2026. Motor1. https://www.motor1.com/news/747957/land-rover-defender-octa-dakar-2026/
