Not just electric cars. But experiments with design, technologies and materials. Here's where to find the automotive brands at the FuoriSalone 2024

But how far are the times of shyness, when the car appeared with fearful reverence among the great names of design. The world of four- and two-wheeled mobility is increasingly a protagonist of the Design Week.

And it is fully so, since the machine - let us remember - has changed its skin in recent years: the lines, the interiors, the materials have acquired a growing specific weight to the point of becoming (with the urgencies of the energy transition: in Europe from 2035 only zero-emission cars (the main element) on sale in the minds of consumers.

Because, this is what we are talking about, among the positive consequences of new electric cars, even before the reduction of pollution, there is a growing freedom of innovation for designers.

The abolition of mechanics leaves room for maneuver that was unthinkable until recently, pushing for unscrupulous collaborations between environmental design and the interior, see Cassina with Lancia, among those who produce ecological fabrics and yarns , requiring the adoption of eco-compatible and recyclable materials.

The good old car seems destined to become a moving house where you find yourself experiencing similar sensations and using similar devices.

The great protagonist of this edition of the FuoriSalone is Audi, which returns to Milan with House of Progress in the spaces of the Portrait in Corso Venezia 11. Where he talks about the value of the avant-garde (in the setting of the artistic installation of the international studio Big – Bjarke Ingels Group) and presents the new Audi Q6 e-tron as a world premiere, the first model based on the new Premium Platform Electric architecture.

In addition to the German company, here are the most significant presences in the automotive world. First of all, it is worth mentioning a significant debut: that of Ducati which set up an exhibition entitled “Forma – Feelings designed by Ducati” in a space decidedly in line with the values of the sports brand, the National Museum of Science and Technology Leonardo da Vinci , in via San Vittore. In a combination of beauty and technology, performance and emotions, the idea of a motorcycle is transformed into a work of art.

Operation similar to what Cupra does, a Spanish brand, or rather from Barcelona: the matter of the car it transforms. Cupra opens the doors of its home, that is, of the Cupra Garage in Corso Como, with a surprising route entitled "The rebel side of design", where you can admire the DarkRebel, a concept car generated thanks to the involvement of the fans of the “Cupra Tribe” and their 270 thousand configurations.

The House of BMW in via Montenapoleone 12 in turn hosts an exhibition projected into the future, "Future of Joy by BMW", which offers a look behind the scenes of automotive design, bringing to our gaze, for the first time, the sports sedan BMW Vision Neue Klasse, electric, digital and sustainable.

The Superstudio in via Tortona was instead chosen by Lexus, Toyota's premium brand , also sponsor of the Venice Film Festival, which exhibits the new zero-emission car LBX and has developed an immersive installation with the design studio Tangent and the solar designer Marjan van Aubel, to investigate the potential of zero-impact energy, even beyond the car.

And to stay on Japanese soil, in via Vincenzo Forcella, the space of Toyota Boshoku, a component manufacturer to investigate the intangible essence of concepts such as 'something good' and 'something comfortable'. In collaboration with some traditional Japanese artisans and with the visual design studio Wow.

Last but not least Range Rover which inaugurates a multi-functional space in viaAmerigo Vespucci 8, the Range Rover House where every detail expresses the essence of the English luxury SUV and where you can participate in talks with the designers or enjoy exclusive experiences. Between style and sustainability.