July: Goodwood, shooting brakes and cowboy hats

This month the team looks back on Goodwood which as always was more than a festival of speed and a celebration of design both old and new. It was also a chance to see both the Audi Nuvolari and Ferrari Luce in a new context. Between expensive ice creams we caught up with plenty of designers, one of whom sported an impressively on-brand cowboy hat. Away from the show we drew inspiration from the master of the shooting brake, Niels van Roij, and concocted our own long-tail versions based on the Rover 75, Nissan Figaro and Renault Wind. But our main focus throughout July was the nebulous topic of ‘surfacing’ and we reflect on conversations with the likes of Lucid, Maserati, Lamborghini and many more. Lucy recaps her latest student degree show visit – this time to the RCA – which revealed contrasting themes of brutalism and fragility: one student built a model from concrete, another from foil. Freddie is back from Munich and shares his thoughts on the reveal of the new Xpeng L03 which is destined for European shores, while James reflects on a fascinating discussion with Lucid’s Derek Jenkins. Other chat includes the prompt “more amphibious”, designers touring museums and a tribute to James’ trusty hat which was eaten by his dog. As always, head to the Car Design News website for everything else including our live and virtual events, magazines and annual coffee table book. Stories mentioned in this episode include: https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/university-of-wales-trinity-saint-david-transportation-design-degree-show-review/2709482 https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/derek-jenkins-on-the-art-of-automotive-surfacingnbsp/2707455 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/audi-apple-and-arcteryx-designers-reimagine-the-beach-buggy/2707459 https://www.cardesignnews.com/exteriors/aero-as-a-surface-praga-on-the-bohema-hypercarnbsp/2706270 https://www.cardesignnews.com/videos/first-sight-xpeng-l03/2706002 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/beauty-cannot-be-a-byproduct-it-has-to-be-intentional-hennessey-head-designer-on-the-venom-f5-m/2704015 https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/i-want-to-keep-sensuality-in-the-design-renaults-alexandre-malval-on-surfacing-and-aerodynamics/2702616 https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/first-sight-qampa-jozef-kaban-on-the-mg-cyber/2702418 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/design-round-up-aston-martin-dreadnought-bentley-torcals-new-sound-vw-id-cross-reveal/2701358 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/mercedes-heritage-ceo-classic-cars-are-about-more-than-nostalgia/2699289 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/how-nature-inspired-surfacing-defines-the-lepas-design-language/2700676 https://www.cardesignnews.com/exteriors/crazy-but-never-chaotic-mitja-borkert-on-lamborghinis-surfacing-philosophy/2700013 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/cdns-takeaways-from-goodwood-2026/2698566 https://www.cardesignnews.com/exteriors/klaus-busse-on-surfacing-with-purpose-and-the-gt4-race-car/2698069 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/mg-on-next-gen-ev-design-authenticity-will-become-even-more-valuable/2697917 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/design-roundup-alpine-x-lacoste-rollsroyce-phantom-regatta-fifthgen-bmw-x5/2694181