Flavio Manzoni (born 7 January 1965 in Nuoro, Sardinia) is an Italian architect and automobile designer. He has held the position of Chief Design Officer at Ferrari since January 2010, leading the development of many Ferrari models, including the LaFerrari.
His influence in the automotive world is significant, having led the creation of several successful Ferrari models.
Among his most celebrated projects:
The F12berlinetta, created in collaboration with Pininfarina and the Ferrari Styling Center, which earned him the Compasso d’Oro in 2014.[1]
Before joining Ferrari, Manzoni contributed to the design of Lancia and Maserati cars. He also served as the creative director of the Volkswagen Group during the 2000s and 2009. His passion for automotive design and his creative vision continue to significantly impact the industry.
Concept Lancia Stilnovo et Lancia Granturismo Stilnovo
Concept Lancia Fulvia Coupé
In 2001 Manzoni returned to Lancia and was appointed Design Director. He took charge of the concept cars Lancia Granturismo, Lancia Granturismo Stilnovo and Lancia Fulvia Coupé Concept, great success at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003, and the production cars Lancia Ypsilon and Lancia Musa, winning the '"European Automotive Design Award" in 2003.[4]
In 2006, with other authors, he wrote L'automobile italiana published by Giunti Editore. The same year, he moved to the Volkswagen group joining Audi, becoming in February 2007 the artistic director of the Volkswagen group "north" pole, where he began to work on a new stylistic image of the Volkswagen, Skoda, Bentley and Bugatti brands. He designed the concept Up!, followed by the Scirocco model and the Volkswagen Golf restyling, called Golf VI, presenting the "Golf Plus" version at 2008 Bologna Motorshow. Also in 2007 he became a member of the iF-Award Product Design jury.[citation needed]
From 12 January 2010 he joined Ferrari as director of design, replacing Donato Coco and creating an internal, complete and autonomous Style Center for the first time in the history of the brand. Ferrari FF is the first production car he oversee development with. He presented the Ferrari SA Aperta roadster at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. In 2012, at the Geneva Motor Show, he presented the Ferrari F12berlinetta, heir of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the first Ferrari developed by the Ferrari Style Center in collaboration with Pininfarina. Thanks to F12berlinetta he won the Auto Bild Design Award 2012, as the most beautiful car in Europe, and the Golden Steering Wheel. In 2013 he made the heir of Enzo Ferrari: La Ferrari. He oversaw the lightening and aerodynamic redesign of the Ferrari 458 Speciale. In 2011 Flavio Manzoni was included into the Automobile Design Hall of Fame at the National Automobile Museum in Turin, Italy.[citation needed]
In May 2014 he received the Compasso d'Oro award in the name of Ferrari, which rewards the combination of technology and design of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.[5]
In December 2014 on Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, his FXX-K was presented as the most powerful Ferrari ever. Although partially based on the very first hybrid car produced in Maranello, LaFerrari, the FXX-K is in fact a completely new car.
In December 2016 the Ferrari J50 was presented in Tokyo. Designed by Flavio Manzoni together with the Ferrari style center, it is a sports car produced in a limited edition to celebrate Ferrari's fifty years of presence in Japan. Among his latest works there are the F12 TdF (Tour de France), the most extreme version of the F12berlinetta, the Ferrari GTC4Lusso, sophisticated four-seater 690 HP coupé, the 488GTB sportscar and the 488 Spider open version and the California T, with important technical innovations.[citation needed]
With his team he is directing the project of the "New Ferrari Style Center" in the production site of Ferrari S.p.A. based in Maranello (Modena). Each of the four floors of the new building is dedicated to a different project design stage.[6]
In March 2017, the Ferrari 812 Superfast was presented at the Geneva Motor Show, designed by the Ferrari Style Center led by Flavio Manzoni. In September, the new Ferrari Portofino is presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
He oversees the project of the "New Ferrari Style Center" inside the Ferrari production plant in Maranello (Modena). The new building, inaugurated on 18 September 2018, is spread over four levels with natural lights and open spaces. The top floor contains a high-tech room [unclear] for the presentation of the projects. The Style Center also houses the company's Tailor Made department.[citation needed]
In September 2018 Manzoni presented the Ferrari SP38 Deborah at the Grand Basel Show demonstrating his great passion for design: "It's so important to show the shape of a car as it was intended, as a masterpiece or a work of art. These presentation frames are great at stimulating contemplation – normally, we’re used to seeing cars in noisy and chaotic environments. But here, there's nothing but the car, its name, and its date. There are no distractions."[7]
The University of Sassari awarded him an honorary degree in Modern Philology and Cultural Industry on 28 June 2019 and Manzoni proposes a Lectio Doctoralis entitled Ferrari Design The metalanguage of form.[citation needed]
For the partnership between Ferrari and Hublot, the historic luxury watchmaking fashion house, in 2019 he designed of the Hublot Classic Fusion Ferrari GT watch, inspired by the Ferrari "Gran Turismo" universe.[8]
On the 28 of May 2024 the University of Florence awarded him an honorary degree in Design; the degree is awarded for contributing to the evolution and history of automotive design.
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