Paolo Martin (born 1943) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

car designer widely known for his career with Studio Tecnico Michelotti,

Carrozzeria Bertone Gruppo Bertone, commonly known as Bertone, was an Italian industrial design company which specialized in Automotive design, car styling, coachbuilder, coachbuilding and Contract manufacturer, manufacturing. It formerly was also a Automotive indus ...

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...

and

De Tomaso De Tomaso Automobili ltd. (previously known as De Tomaso Modena SpA) is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso (1928–2003) in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes an ...

Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilder, coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Mar ...

where he styled the ''Ferrari Dino Berlinetta Competizione'',

Ferrari Modulo The Ferrari 512S Modulo is a concept sports car designed by Paolo Martin of the Italian carrozzeria Pininfarina, unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show. Description The Modulo has an extremely low and wedge-shaped body, with a canopy-style gl ...

concept, Fiat 130 Coupé and the

Rolls-Royce Camargue The Rolls-Royce Camargue is a 2-door luxury saloon manufactured and marketed by Rolls-Royce Motors from 1975–1986. Designed by Paolo Martin at Pininfarina, the Camargue was the first post-war production Rolls-Royce not designed in-house (not ...

Background and career

Born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1943, Martin began working in 1960 for Giovanni Michelotti's ''Studio Tecnico Michelotti''. In 1967, he started to work for Carrozzeria Bertone, and one year later, in 1968 he became Chief of the Styling Department at Carrozzeria Pininfarina. He subsequently worked for

(1972–76), where he was Style Center Director for

. Martin's work has included motorcycle and boat design, as well as automotive projects for Stutz,

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

as well as

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

. Since 1976 he has headed a

-based independent design consultancy, with clients including Fiat, Nissan, BMW, Subaru,

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo ...

Moto Guzzi Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production. Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...

, Gilera, Ferretti Kraft, Cigarette, Magnum Marine and

Dassault Aviation Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets. It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marc ...

. He participated in the Auto 2011 Design Conference, in

Zagreb, Croatia Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

Design work

Martin's work has received varied reception. In 2005, the

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called the Fiat 130 Coupé a "majestic blend of severity and grace, boldness and subtlety, sharp angles joined by soft curves, a true catwalk beauty, a masterclass that was widely copied in the Seventies but never equaled." After its debut at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show, the

went on to be shown (repainted white, from its original black) at the 1970

Turin Motor Show The Turin Motor Show ( it, Salone dell'Automobile di Torino) was an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from 1 ...

and at Osaka's

Expo '70 The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...

, before winning 22 international design awards. A 2007 retrospective said the ''Modulo'' was "a milestone in the automobile design history with a deep influence on the 1970′s car styling." In 2008,

Car Design News ''Car Design News'' (''CDN'') () is an online news and information service for the international automotive design community. ''CDN'' covers production and concept cars, the career moves of significant car designers, major international auto sho ...

called the Modulo "''iconic''". The Modulo placed third in Jalopnik's 2008 competition for the top ten best "Wedge Car Designs Of The 60s, 70s and 80s." By contrast, the Rolls Royce Camargue ranked in 2010 as one of the "''10 Worst Cars"'' as chosen by readers of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''; ranked 38 in the 2005 book ''Crap Cars'' by Richard Porter (the author saying the car "looked utterly terrible)" and ranked 92 in a 2008 poll of the 100 ugliest cars of all time by readers of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''.

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said the Camargue had been ranked "conspicuously low on the list," adding the Camargue "really was horrid, no matter how well it sold." Responding to the ''Telegraph'' list, noted automotive journalist

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...

said the Camargue "is not ugly, either. It has presence, like that pug-faced but well-dressed bloke down the pub."

Series production designs

Martin's design work that has seen series production includes: *

Triumph Spitfire The Triumph Spitfire is a British sports car and manufactured over five production iterations between 1962-1980. Styled for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Spitfire was introduced at the London Motor Show in ...

(with

Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with t ...

) * Fiat 130 Coupé Fiat 130 Coupè
. Paolo Martin Designer, retrieved April 1, 2008 *

Peugeot 104 The Peugeot 104 is a supermini designed by Paolo Martin and produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot between 1972 and 1988. It was the first model produced at the company's Mulhouse plant. It was also the first new Peugeot introduced sin ...

Lancia Beta Montecarlo Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but its ...

Stutz Motor Company The Stutz Motor Car Company, was an American producer of high-end sports and luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Production began in 1911 and ended in 1935. Stutz was known as a producer of fast cars including America's first spo ...

IV-Porte and Stutz Royale

Concept designs

His concept design work has included: *

Dino Berlinetta Competizione Dino () was a marque best known for mid-engined, rear-drive sports cars produced by Ferrari from 1957 to 1976. The marque came into existence in late 1956 with a front-engined Formula Two racer powered by a brand new '' Dino'' V6 engine. The name ...

(1967) * BMC 1800 Aerodinamica (1967) *

Fiat Dino The Fiat Dino (Type 135) was a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Fiat from 1966 to 1973. The Dino name refers to the Ferrari Dino V6 engine, produced by Fiat and installed in the cars to achieve the production numbers sufficient ...

Parigi (1967) * Bentley T1 Pininfarina Coupé Speciale (1968) * Alfa Romeo P33 Roadster (1968, later rebodied), *Fiat Dino Ginevra (1968) *BLMC 1100 (1968) * Fiat 128 Teenager (1969) * Ferrari Sigma (1969) *

(1970) * Alfa Romeo P33 Cuneo (1971) *NSU Ro 80 (1971) *Ford Fiesta Blue Car (1972, Ghia) *Fiat Gobi (1984, Maggiora) *Fiat Halley (1985, Maggiora) *Nissan Hurricane Li-Ion (1986) *Fiat Freely Savio (1987, Carrozzeria Savio) *Fiat Topolino Concept (2008, for ''Ruoteclassiche Italian'' magazine) *Citroen 2CV Concept (2008).

References

External links

*
Video: Paolo Martin, sketches from the 1980s

Video: Paolo Martin completing a car rendering with Künstler chalks and markers on Canson cardboard

Design: Sketches by Paul Martin for Giovanni Michelotti (1961-1966)
(translated from Italian) *

* ttp://www.carstyling.ru/en/cars.1970_Ferrari_Modulo.html 1970 Ferrari Modulo {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Paolo 1943 births Living people Italian automobile designers Automotive engineers from Turin Ferrari people