June focus: Advanced design

The advanced design studio is a curious component to an OEM’s bricks and mortar footprint.

Historically, these outposts have been positioned in strategic markets and tasked with proposing forward-thinking ideas that can feed the broader production mothership. An ideas factory. But while tangible products may roll out of those doors, those prototypes rarely go further than an autoshow podium and never generate direct cash from the consumer.

That, and other factors, may go some way to explaining the closure of some established and highly productive advanced design outfits. GAC Los Angeles (2025) is perhaps the most recent such example; VW Potsdam (2024) perhaps the most significant.

Cynics would proffer that an ideas machine, although useful, is a luxury. Swarms of talented and creative designers already exist within the main production studio(s), and there is nothing to stop them from dreaming up new ideas that might make it on the road, or to explore new directions that inform future design languages.

But there is something to be said for a space where the task of dreaming does not clash with the realities of a production environment. Design constraints do not suddenly disappear, of course, and concepts should be at least vaguely realistic, but designers can let loose and dedicate their considerable creative capacity towards that most intangible of things – the future.

We have seen this throughout the decades that followed the first official concept car – the Buick Y-Job – in 1938, an expression of both engineering and design’s broader ambitions and a showcase for cutting-edge technology. The 2004 Range Stormer concept led to the first generation (L320) Range Rover Sport. The 2009 BMW Vision EfficientDynamics show car would, five years later, become the BMW i8. Honda’s Urban EV concept shown in 2017 would of course lead directly to the Honda-e city car with startling resemblance. But even if concepts never directly translate into a production variant, they rarely bear nil purpose. Sometimes they can spark interest and signal the return – or resurgence – of a brand.

The 2022 Buick Wildcat concept represented “the real design future for the brand”, while GAC’s ENO.146 aerodynamics study directly influenced the super-slick Aion Hyper GT. The lesser-known BMW 2K2 concept (1999) was created away from the main production studio – and barely saw the light of day – but would go on to inspire the 1 Series Coupe that sold through to 2013 (a format that still exists today in the guise of the 2 Series Coupe). Advanced design makes its impact felt even if the benefits are not immediate. It is a tried and trusted approach that complements the justifiably more restrictive nature of a production environment.

But in a world where mounting cost pressures and an unwavering appetite for newness, the ‘slow burn’ of a hyper-futuristic concept could be less feasible, particularly for smaller brands that need to make their mark (and market share) quickly. Do thought-provoking concepts fit into that way of working? Are projects that challenge the status quo an unnecessary risk for some brands if safe, inoffensive models can bring money in quickly. Some may ask: why invest in advanced design?

This hits at the very irony of such a discussion. The urgency for fresh product and distinctive design surely makes a stronger case for an advanced design strategy, even if a scaled back operation for those under the fiscal cosh. In a congested market where homogeneity has reared its ugly head, there is surely still a need for dedicated teams looking beyond the horizon at what could come next. “You have to be even more daring, even more creative, and think outside of the box,” says Estelle Tabaczek, a senior exterior designer at Alfa Romeo. “You are pretty free to do that if you respect the pillars of the brand.”

Advanced design teams may have more freedom, but they certainly make the most of their time. In Milan, GAC’s advanced design studio has been gathering market intelligence and pushing out ideas at a rate of knots. A new concept car – along with supporting narrative, merchandise, video and even toy scale-models – has been shown there every year since its doors opened. Who knows how much else is being shared with HQ away from public eyes. Lots, probably.

In late 2023 General Motors reestablished a UK footprint not with a formal production studio but an advanced design outpost. ‘Outpost’ is perhaps misleading, as it is a sizable operation led by industry legend Julian Thomson and equipped with state-of-the-art tooling. But even this considerably larger studio revealed a breathtaking Corvette concept – fully resolved as a rolling chassis – not long after opening.

This is clearly a brand that values advanced design, and recently rushed to repair its Pasadena advanced studio which suffered a fire last October. Were it less valued, this would have been an opportune moment to quietly move it off the books. Instead, GM threw a party for the reopening, announced a new studio lead, and showed two unexpected Hummer concepts. GM is not alone in this approach, but it is a strong case study.

Even for popular models or familiar typologies, an advanced design studio in an auxiliary market can provide a new perspective. “Let’s say you were working on a new Chevrolet truck, and you’ve designed the last three. You’ll probably have a very fixed idea about what it should be,” Julian Thomson of GM Advanced Europe told CDN. “Here, we’re able to step back and look at things with fresh eyes.”

And perhaps that is the best means of viewing these studios. A place where forecasting and exploration is a sounding board for those under pressure to make the next big hit – or what is already successful even more so. 

Over the next month we hope to understand the industry’s sentiments around advanced design and its long-term outlook, but also more granular themes around the design process itself. Does it require a different mindset, skills – tools – and an environment that is conducive to creativity? Let’s find out.