Stile Bertone unveiled a full-scale model of the Mantide at the Shanghai auto show today, the first vehicle designed by Jason Castriota since he took the role of Design Director. Based on the Corvette ZR-1 platform, Castriota and his new design team re-skinned the vehicle in a sensual cloak that the designer feels lies somewhere between two extremes: namely "the organic sensuality of the Ferrari 330 P4 and the brutality of the Lancia Stratos Zero and LP500 Countach prototype".

Drawing inspiration from aerospace and F1, the design theme is defined by a teardrop-shaped fuselage enveloped by organically grown wings that wrap around the body. These are a nod to the original Bertone BAT concept's, while the wheelarches are a tip of the hat to Marcello Gandini's avantgarde designs. A black graphic, which rises from a transparent cover on the hood that provides a window to the car's soul, leads to an aerodynamic groove in the roof that drives air to a small but highly effective rear Kamm spoiler. All the surface volumes converge at the rear, providing a sense of continuity within the modern form language, which also includes geometric shapes that are repeated in the front, side and rear of the car.

"I've had this car in my head for a number of years," Castriota told us at the stand in Shanghai. "All we needed to do was get it developed". In so doing, the Mantide was designed entirely in VR before being milled. A fiberglass shell was then mounted on the Corvette chassis and the aerodynamics honed in the wind tunnel before the one-off car was fabricated from carbon fiber. According to Castriota, the Mantide is designed not only to show off an extreme aesthetic but also extreme aero values: "We wanted to create proper air channels so we could achieve real-world numbers; the Cd went from 0.38 [the stock Corvette package] to 0.29 and the downforce was increased by 30 percent."

As other design directors have before him, Castriota is already leaving a significant imprint on Bertone while paying homage to some of the iconic vehicles developed by the coachbuilder. But the Mantide is not a retro car: it has been conceived to show manufacturers that the possibilities of developing all-new, dramatically different design themes over existing platforms are not limited, but endless.

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Porsche revealed its new Panamera on the eve of the Shanghai auto show with the aim of combining coupe-like sportiness with luxury sedan and station wagon functionality.

Design boss Michael Mauer told Car Design News that a key goal was to create a "dramatic relation between width and height". The final production car fulfills the remit, fitting four tall adults plus luggage in the trunk despite overall proportions that are lower (1418mm), wider and longer (4970mm) than the Cayenne SUV's.

Also part of Mauer's remit - who has overseen the Panamera project from the start - was to retain Porsche design cues like wheelarches higher than the hood lid, an absence of a conventional radiator grille and a passenger cabin that tapers away at the rear. The trunk is accessed by a large hatchback (rather than a separate trunk lid) and the rear seats fold flat. To make the nose appear longer, the rear-view mirrors on both sides are mounted well back on the front doors, not by the A-pillars.

The Panamera's interior design takes inspiration from the raised center console of the Carrera GT, but is all-new and will inform the next Cayenne's interior. "It represents a new starting point for Porsche interiors," said Mauer. He also defended the number of switches and knobs in the IP on safety and ergonomic grounds, maintaining that it is preferable to an i-Drive-style system. Where possible the switches are clustered together to improve intuitive use.

Any Porsche straying from the design path of the 911 is prone to criticism - the Panamera has had its share - but in the metal this vehicle is a much more successful design than the Cayenne, suiting its hunkered-down stance well, especially in rear three-quarter view. As a means to win sales in emerging markets with an appetite for luxury four-door coupes, like China and Russia, it's much harder to criticise. Porsche intends to sell 20,000 per annum starting later in 2009.

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One of the surprise hits of today's Shanghai auto show was this four-door luxury sedan displayed by Guangzhou Auto (GAC) - a Chinese joint venture with Honda and Toyota. Dubbed the VIP-Lounge Concept, the design study wears the company's independent GAC brand label and is rumored to have been created by an Italian coachbuilder, most likely Stile Bertone. Insiders indicate that it uses the front-drive platform from the Alfa Romeo 166.

Guangzhou hopes to catch the attention of what it calls "noble, wise and executive people" and "senior VIP customers" that would usually confine their aspirations to a BMW or long-wheelbase Audi A6. And it may well succeed; the VIP-Lounge is a handsome take on the classic executive sedan, echoing the stepped trunk design and C-pillar treatment of BMW's 6 Series while offering some innovative design solutions of its own and an imposing - almost boroque-looking - down-the-road graphic.

Like the Maserati Quattroporte, the VIP-Lounge is a car that conceals its bulk very well (along with its door handles, Alfa 166-style). While some designers we spoke to felt that the integrated grille and headlamp graphic was a little over-the-top, there's no doubting its visual impact. Other highlights include small concave surfaces at the outer edges of the full-width front intake and a narrow protruding body section that visually links the front and rear arches while containing the intersecting shutlines formed by the car's four doors.

Arguably the GAC's defining characteristic, however, is its complex shoulder treatment. The lower shoulderline runs from the kick in the lower edge of the headlamp, arcing over the wheelhouse before running in an almost straight line to form the upper frame for the taillamps. A gently tapering greenhouse generates quite a significant tumblehome around the C-pillars, too, hinting at contained power.

Sadly, we weren't able to assess whether the VIP-Lounge's interior is as cohesive and well executed as the exterior. But assuming that it is, and that GAC has the resources to build it, it would make a welcome addition to the luxury car sector.