His father is one of the most famous automobile designers of all time - widely regarded as an Italian car design legend, having been nominated for the prestigious 'Car Designer of the Century' accolade. 

Leonardo Fioravanti created many iconic models for Ferrari, including the Daytona and Berlinetta Boxer. He is also designer the F40 and 288 GTO - arguably the most renowned man in Ferrari's design history. 

His two sons, Luca and Matteo are continuing their father's legacy, having been taught 'everything' from the legendary Ferrari designer. 

Motortrades Insight speaks to Luca about the future of the Fioravanti design house.  

What is the most challenging aspect of designing new cars suitable for the production line?

The challenge arises from the customer and car maker’s needs. For production, there are so many different kinds of projects that could be assigned to a company like ours. So the field is very wide. It can go from a very simple facelift to a completely new project and a new kind of car. 

The challenge is always there because as a consultant company, we always have competition from other consultant companies and international studios. 

Realistically, where do you see both interior car design and exterior car design going in the next few years?

This question is something everybody wants to know. It’s not possible to foresee the future. As a consultant company, we always want to push the limits and to propose and be a little bit advanced. 

What we like to do and what is already hitting the market... In interior design, we will see the philosophy of more with less. I mean, there will be less devices and everything will be a little bit more user-friendly. 

But also, at the same time, it will be a more expensive car. 

Do you feel you’ve reached a peak for exterior car design?

For the exterior, the field is very wide. It depends on which kind of vehicle we’re speaking about. It depends on which kind of product we are considering. 

For sure, the exterior will be driven by sustainable transport in terms of aerodynamics. 

Where do you feel you can make improvements to the design of car interiors and exteriors?

For interiors, it will be to have the same kind of function but with less devices to be touched. For the exterior, I think it will be the combination of new materials and new hybrid engine production. Many times through the exterior design you have to communicate these aspects.

How do safety regulations affect how creative you can be as a designer?

Well, this has always been an issue. Sometimes it has been a good starting point for a new production so if you have something to respect in the creative world, it is not something that can affect the creativity. But sometimes it can be seen as something that can push your creativity. So, the safety regulations, of course, have a big impact on the designer’s job but in a positive way. 

What’s the biggest factor in safety affecting designers?

Not airbags but I think new materials and this is something that is a little bit out of the boundaries of the designer. It’s something that the designer has to deal with but has a kind of input but it is not the big task of the designer to look for safety in production. 

There are specific departments that are pushing and proposing new safety in production.

How important is the emotional aspect of designing a car for a designer? And to what extent does emotion affect the design of the car?

The main aspect to drive our job is the love of cars. It’s not a job that you can do really well if you do not have a love of cars. The emotional aspect for a designer is not only the emotion that a designer has to gather, but it’s the emotion that a designer has inside when he is at his desk drawing. 

It’s the ingredient that has to be present. If you don’t have that ingredient then it’s difficult to do our job.

What challenges are you facing in designing cars for the next generation?

We as a design consultant company are always under big pressures. We always have to fight to look for our business. 

It is different for a designer who is involved in internal design studios – he has only to think about his daily job. We have to do the same but at the same time we have to look around for business that can be assigned to us and all the challenges involved in this.

So the pressure, the combination of pressures, are getting a job and what the market is like.

To what extent has car design become more like graphic design?

From our point of view, we recognise that in the last year, there has been more graphic design that design itself. Many cars today are overdesigned. Some of the main German brands are doing more graphic design instead of serious design. 

We don’t know if this can prove successful or not but what we can see for sure is that if you are a car brand, graphic design can influence it in a negative way in the long term. 

Some brands are perceived by the consumer as very serious brands and this seriousness has to be respected by the designers. 

Do you feel graphic design is overused in today’s world?

Sometimes, yes. So for us, what helps to make a car recognisable on the road is the combination of function and style. If you do only three designs through graphic design, okay, in some cars it has an impact, but it is not always matching what the customer wants, let me say.

How do manufacturing constraints affecting your creativity as a designer?

So much. Let me say, ‘so much’. When you are involved in production you are always, always meeting the following issue: design to cost. Always. It has a huge impact. 

And where do you source your inspiration and how do you predict future fashion trends?

I know there are some people who like to connect a lot with the building architecture and many things with automotive design. For me, sometimes it’s true and sometimes it’s not. For example, in the interior, there is a connection between different fields, especially for the material – the material of some furniture is used in some premium cars. There is always a connection. 

With architecture and buildings, I see a little bit less connection. I see more connection on the interior of the car with other fields such as furniture and electronics, etc. 

How important is it to have a team of designers with differing opinions from a wide range of cultures? To be able to question ideas and put other alternative ideas forward? 

For a large car maker that is involved in many different markets, it is very important. 

They have the studios. Some car makers might appoint us as a consultant. Maybe it’s because they want an opinion from the Italian way to think and so we think like Italian people and do Italian design. 

Volvo and Google are really pushing forward with autonomous driving technology and want it on our roads. Do you feel that it could take away the fun aspect of driving?

Yes and no. For me, this depends on which kind of car we are talking about and are considering. It depends on which kind of car but also which kind of environment. 

We would travel very often in China and in China, especially in the cities, it is almost impossible to have the pleasure of driving because the traffic is very high and the kind of roads do not match the pleasure of driving as you can do in the UK, in Italy or in France. 

The pleasure of driving can be avoided by many electronic devices. You may like to drive without any kind of help but maybe your ladies and my ladies do not like to drive so much and they want to have help.

So this issue depends on which kind of product we’re speaking about and where this product will be used. 

How important is aerodynamics in saving fuel?

So much. Aerodynamics is one of the main aspects affecting fuel consumption. It’s a very important issue not only for saving fuel but also for dealing with other issues such as the handling and dealing with noise issues when you are travelling at speed. Aerodynamics is always one of the main issues in car design. Always. And it will be more and more. 

Do you feel synthetic leather is an environmentally friendly alternative to real leather?

Yes, of course. Interiors and materials have been pushed quite forward in the last year and there are still big improvements in the interior. I am not a lover of real leather because I feel it is slippery. It is good looking and good to touch but I personally prefer synthetic leather or synthetic materials. 

For me, also, the new ecological vehicles mean the big challenge will be in making the car lighter. And if you want to make the car lighter, you have to consider everything. And when I mean everything I mean everything. From the cable to… everything. And you know, real leather, for example, is not so light. 

What inspiration do you take from your father in your designs today?

Always a lot because he has educated us in this work so everything we know and the way we approach this business comes from him – everything we have learnt. 

Of course, every person is unique and me and my brother do not want to be like him because we know it is not possible. The main values is what really counts – the approach that we can have in this job and this really comes from him. 

What would you say makes you happiest when you’re designing a car?

It is very difficult to be understood by the customer but at the same time when you are able to convince the customer that some of your buyers will be women this is very satisfying. 

And of course, when you have your car on the stand and when you see it on the road, this is really satisfying but at the same time you have some concern because as a designer you are never happy. 

So when you see the show car or the car on the road, you are happy but at the same time you are saying, ‘hmm, maybe I can change this or this and improve this and this?’ So it creates happiness.

Where do you see the company in five years’ time?

I think it will still be on the market because it’s not so easy to do this job. The job has changed a lot in the last 15 to 20 years and so our main market will be the Far East. Our company is more than 25 years old and I hope it will still be on the market in another 25 years at least. 

You mentioned the Far East there. Are you having to design cars slightly different for the East Asian market?

Yes, of course, for many aspects, it is quite different to work with a more macho market and OEMs. Far Eastern car makers have – as a reference – top European, American and Japanese brands because these brands are the big players and they do the big sales too. 

So they have to fight and challenge them. It is a relatively new industry compared to ours, so this can sometimes not be so easy to deal with. 

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