Student shows
University of Wales Trinity Saint David Transportation design degree show review
CDN visits Swansea to attend the University of Wales Trinity Saint David Automotive and Transportation design show where the graduating students showcased their final projects
According to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, there are only five universities in the UK that offer transportation and automotive design courses. One of these prioritises a smaller cohort and plenty of one-on-one support: the University of Wales Trinity St David.
This course teaches a combination of traditional automotive design skills – such as sketching and clay modelling, alongside the latest tech like CAD and VR. The syllabus goes hand in hand with an impressive array of in-house equipment, such as a modern clay studio and a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) machine.
The design students also share their building with automotive engineering students, replicating the relationship they’d experience in the working world. There’s also a focus on building a personal brand for sustainable employment, which is key in today’s highly competitive industry.
Programme director Sergio Fontanarosa spoke to CDN about the creativity, resilience and design maturity that the class of 2026 demonstrated, with their projects moving beyond conventional vehicle design to focus on the challenges around mobility, technology, sustainability and human experiences.
The third and final year of this BA course brings around the major design project, which brings together everything the students have learnt throughout the course. The projects presented were designed independently without sponsorship from OEMs. CDN spoke to seven of the final year students to learn more.
Alessio Reina – Ferrari Eterna
Reina’s sensory trainer concept is set in 2050 and focuses on preserving human sensory engagement in an era of digitalisation.
Reina takes Ferrari’s design language into a different direction, one that is more angular and volume based. There’s a level of complexity to the design, but Reina says he wanted to also keep it simple and ensure it flows: “If I went too complex, it would look like a Lamborghini, so I wanted to bring in elegance and give all the aerodynamic devices function and aesthetic,” he reflected. And aerodynamics is a key focus, with front S-duct vents, brake cooling intakes, open side sections for wheel-arch after-pressure being only a few elements.
The interior seating has been divided into sections that each provide different feedback levels depending on the driving mode – with motorway mode reducing stimulus and track mode increasing the feedback. Reina illustrated his final project with a physical model made out of resin print that has been sanded and painted.
Reina will now focus on building out his portfolio and applying for jobs.
Ollie Hooper – BMW IA
Hooper presented a hypercar designed for the year 2060 when he imagines electricity will have become so expensive and rationed that humans will start looking at other ways to generate electricity. As a result, the BMW IA is a self-dependant performance car that generates its own electricity through an algae unit at the front of the vehicle. The unit houses genetically modified algae that transforms rainwater and sunlight into oxygen and hydrogen. This oxygen and hydrogen are then fed into a hydrogen fuel cell where they combine to produce electricity.
The design is inspired by the BMW Nazca C2 supercar concept designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro at Italdesign, with this inspiration especially prevalent in the star-shaped wheel design. The idea of the two green oversized kidney grilles came to Hooper in a dream, after which he decided that had to be the front design.
There’s a massive focus on materials throughout the project, aside from the algae of course, with the roof made from polycarbonate with bio-resin, and carbon fibre made using a derivative from algae biomass also being utilised for the exterior. Hooper hand-painted his model himself using old metallic BMW 8 Series green leftover paint.
Chris Wood – Polestar Klarhet
The Polestar Klarhet is an exploration into the future of luxury personal transportation. Wood was inspired by his personal experiences travelling and living in large urban environments such as London, Bangkok, and Singapore and wanted a vehicle that would allow the user to travel in peace, privacy and comfort, so that arriving at the destination wouldn’t be a draining experience.
The design inspiration came from the simple and striking geometry of the Polestar logo, deriving the key features of the logo into the surfaces and graphics on the car. Using an EV package allowed him to extend the greenhouse space to the front of the car, creating a spacious and luxurious interior with reclining seats, entertainment screens, air purifiers and sustainable, comfortable materials such as bio-resins and vegan leathers.
The greenhouse is split into two types of glass, with controllable opacities and solar protection, allowing the user to choose between an open view of the outside or a completely enclosed private space to relax in. The surfaces and features of the car’s design are clean and minimalist, with enough flare to remain refined yet dynamic in form.
Fraser Hemingway – Corvette RS
This project is a Pikes Peak Hill Climb-inspired race car, with a focus on aerodynamics and safety. Hemingway wanted to move away from the hypercar style and towards race car aesthetics, with his main challenge being blending engineering constraints with design.
The large front floor and rear wing are key for downforce on mountain roads, with the front end designed with two main sculptural lines and a flat front. A sleek, racing-typical greenhouse works nicely with the sharp exterior lines and Hemingway’s favourite design element is the front and rear wheel arch. The interior is built around safety-first ergonomics.
Hemingway preferred to use 3D modelling over sketching, which helped with complex areas like the rear suspension. He’d like to go into either exterior design or visualisation.
Daniel Piper – Spirit of Motion
Piper presented the only water-based transportation form in his cohort, a 70-metre hydrogen-powered Rolls-Royce yacht concept. The purple yacht fits nicely into Rolls-Royce’s existing colour palette, with a front split like a Rolls-Royce grille and a floating Rolls-Royce badge at the bow. A swan neck shape came to Piper in a dream – and this shape was carried into the final project as the surface that cascades across the tiered decks and swoops into the water.
These enclosed decks replace conventional open-top yacht decks and are made of transparent aluminium – offering weatherproofing and 360-degree views. There’s also a microplastic filtration system, with Piper aiming to aid the issue of microplastics in oceans.
Piper 3D printed his final model and some elements – like the staircase and floating Rolls-Royce badge – came from his personal 3D printer. He’d like to continue his passion for yachts and get a job in the yacht design industry.
Josh Browne – Ri Odyssey
This fully autonomous, hydrogen-powered personal aircraft targets ultra-wealthy individuals who want to get straight into the air, without the faff of airport security or travelling to the airport. This led Browne to design at VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicle that can take off and land vertically (as the name suggests), eliminating the need for a runway. The onboard AI systems carry out the necessary security checks, which allows the user to avoid the airport entirely.
Browne wanted to create something that was more personal than traditional private jets, so he wanted to bring the spark of a supercar into aviation, seen through the exterior colour and interior design. The exterior shape is inspired by stealth fighters like the Northrop B-2 Spirit, rather than traditional private jets. To get into the vehicle, a vent folds out as a staircase and then the canopy opens so you can climb inside.
The entire canopy is made of glass to create the feeling of spaciousness, with the interior appearing simple yet luxurious, utilising materials like vegan leather for the seating, Ultrasuede for the interior walls and smoked walnut for the interior panels. There’s also adaptable seating, so the aircraft can accommodate a family or just a couple of people.
James Catlin – Jeep Pulse
Catlin’s investigation into increased global flooding led to the Jeep Pulse, a rapid response SUV that possesses all the necessary equipment for rescue, space for passengers and internal powertrain to suit both off-road and amphibious capabilities. Four-wheel steering also allows the vehicle to move diagonally if needed.
Catlin took inspiration from Jeep’s rugged aesthetic, with his initial idea looking much more aggressive, which he then toned town to a more organic, friendly appearance – intended to feel trustworthy for rescue scenarios. He then moved his idea to clay, which highlighted too many surface twists, so his idea was again progressed and tweaked.
The inside has been fully designed for rescue operations, with the ability to fit stretchers in the back, store medical equipment via integrated shelving as well as host diving equipment.
Catlin would like to pursue a career in clay or exterior automotive design.
