October 23, 2017
Design Leaders Celebrate Italian, American and French Vehicles at ArtCenter College of Design Car Classic 2017 Red, White and Blue
Fans Treated to Inspirational Stories About Career Highs and Lows as Top Designers Get Personal and Reveal Car Culture Reality
A crowd of more than 2,000 auto enthusiasts and art aficionados experienced gathered for “Red, White and Blue: Celebrating Italian, American and French Design,” ArtCenter College of Design’s Car Classic 2017 on Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017. Attendees mingled with top designers, collectors and the imaginative makers who create vehicles featured on the road, in museums and around the world. Designers are stars at the annual event produced by the College, “one of the car industry’s top incubators of global design talent,” according to The New York Times.
Inspired by the international auto racing colors of rosso corsa, white with Cunningham stripes and Bleu de France, the carefully curated selection of nearly 150 vehicles and accentuated the innovative feats of transportation design stemming from Italy, America and France.
A standing room only crowd packed the state-of-the-art Hyundai & Kia Innovation Lab for a presentation by Sasha Selipanov, currently head of advanced design for Genesis and previously responsible for exterior design of the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo show car and Bugatti Chiron.
Selipanov, class of 2005, shared his personal trajectory from a life of poverty in the Soviet Union to his dream-come-true career as a designer for Lamborghini and Bugatti. Obsessed with sketching Ferraris as a child, he earned his degree in transportation design at ArtCenter and swiftly joined the team at Volkswagen Design Center Potsdam near Berlin, Germany. Frustrated with the then state of automotive design, he launched angrycardesigner.com as a place to contain his rants and criticisms, which lead to a compulsion to create his own design proposals and further define his unique voice. Admittedly, he said it was a struggle as a married father of a newborn to work all day and then come home and work all night to flesh out his own design ideas but, with perseverance, it paid off.
The audience was riveted as Selipanov shared details of life inside the high profile carmaker studios as a young designer willing to challenge big brands—complete with controversy, extreme criticism and charged emotions of conveying what some thought were crazy ideas—that has resulted in a career that seems unbelievable even to him at times. He expressed deep gratitude to the College for all he learned from his mentors about channeling his passion, understanding the power of purity and simplicity, and realizing the magical satisfaction of bringing ideas to the table and finding out that dreams do come true.
Additional special guests included Jason Castriota, chief designer for cars at Ford and previously responsible for the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Maserati GranTurismo, Maserati Birdcage 75th, and one-off Ferrari P 4/5; Miguel Galluzzi, head of Piaggio’s Advanced Design Center and previously responsible for the Ducati 900SS Monster, Aprilia Dorsoduro, RSV4, Tuono, Moto Guzzi V7 Racer, and California 1400; and Tom Peters, director of exterior design for General Motors and previously responsible for the C6 and C7 (Stingray) Corvette, and 5th generation Camaro. The three designers engaged in a panel discussion moderated by television host and frequent Car Classic attendee Jay Leno.
Highlights of the day include a curated field of inspired vehicles; emcees ABC Channel 7’s Dave Kunz and Ed Justice Jr.; interviews with transportation designers and car collectors; and tours of ArtCenter's landmark campus facilities.
The College is grateful for support for this event from generous premier patrons Bruce Heavin (BFA 93) and Lynda Weinman. ArtCenter also expresses gratitude to event partners Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda and Hyundai. Car Classic 2017 media partners were Arroyo magazine,Autoweek, Garage Style magazine, 89.3 KPCC Radio, Pasadena Weekly, Petrolicious and Vintage Motorsport.
Car Classic 2017 also served as the culminating event in the Connect ’17 series. Spearheaded by Innovate Pasadena, Connect ’17 boasts more than 80 individual events taking place across greater Pasadena, inviting guests to sharpen their innovation and technology know-how by connecting with top industry professionals, discovering local startups and learning the latest trends and insights.
ArtCenter’s Car Classic 2017 Judges Choices
Italian Motorcycles
Judges: Miguel Galluzzi, Marek Djordjevic, Franz von Holzhausen and Geoff Wardle
Paul Greenstein’s 1929 Henderson Model KJ
Philippe De Lespinay’s 1976 Morbidelli-Benelli ARMI 125 VR Grand Prix Racer
Other Colors
Judges: Ian Cartabiano, Ken Saward and Bradley Arnold
Classic
David Spiegel’s 1936 MG SA Saloon
Performance
Larry Guzin’s 1958 Morgan 4/4
Special Interest
Gary Wales’ 1938 Bentley 4.25 L Special Roadster
* Honorable mention: Roger Zrimec’s 1951 Jaguar XK 120 Roadster and previously owned by Strother MacMinn
American Classics
Judges: Frank Saucedo, Chuck Pelly and Dave Marek
Petersen Automotive Museum’s 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia
Beverly and Ronald Cressey’s 1940 Lincoln-Zephyr Continental Cabriolet
American Performance
Judges: Derek Jenkins, Jonathan Ward, Jason Castriota and Richard Pietruska
Paul and Sherrill Colony’s 1955 Chevrolet Corvette
Craig Kuromi’s 1966 Shelby GT-350
American Special Interest
Judges: Chris Chapman, Tom Peters and Fireball Tim Lawrence
Michael Leeds’ Blastolene "Blown Ranger" Fairchild XFR0001 Roadster
Joe Magliato’s 1936 Ford Pickup Custom
French
Judges: Jae Min, Sasha Selipanov, John Sahs and Jason Hill
Classic
James Selevan’s 1976 Renault Alpine A110B
Performance
Bruce Milner’s 1981 Renault R5 Turbo 1
Special Interest
Scott Boses’ 1949 Voisin Biscooter Prototype
Italian - Ferraris
Judges: Freeman Thomas, Rich Plavetich, John Krsteski and Dennis Campbell
Donnie Crevier’s 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica
Bella Classics, Inc.’s 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GT Euro
Rick Principe’s 1990 Ferrari F40 Coupe
Don and Carol Murray’s 1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta by Touring
Italian – Exotic/Sport/GT
Judges: Richard Kim, Christopher Rhoades, Kevin Hunter
Chuck Gayton’s 1976 Lamborghini LP400
Milani Classics Collection’s 1955 Fiat 8V Zagato Berlinetta
Erik Goplen’s 1969 De Tomaso Mangusta
Italian – Special Interest
Judges: Miguel Galluzzi, Marek Djordjevic, Franz von Holzhausen and Geoff Wardle
The Byrd Family’s 1927 Lancia Lambda 7th Series Airway
Rudy Pock’s 1958 Fiat Multipla
Designer’s Choice
Bruce Meyer’s 1960 Chevrolet Cunningham Corvette Le Mans Roadster
Peter and Merle Mullin and the Mullin Automotive Museum’s 1932 Bugatti Type 55
Po Shun Leong’s 1972 Citroen DS 21 Pallas
David SK Lee’s 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
Thomas Shaughnessy’s 1962 Fiat/Abarth 1000 Coupe
Bruce Heavin’s 1957 BMW Isetta
About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in a wide variety of industrial design disciplines as well as visual and applied arts. In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves members of the Greater Los Angeles region through a highly regarded series of year-round educational programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.
Contact:
Teri Bond, Media Relations Director
teri.bond@artcenter.edu
O 626 396-2385
M 310 738-2077
