2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Gt Convertible 2-door 3.8l on 2040-cars

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The Ferrari Enzo's designer isn't worried about the future of supercars

Ken Okuyama is a talented designer with a prestigious portfolio. He spent 12 years at the famed Italian design house Pininfarina after a stint with GM's Advanced Design Studio, where he worked on the C5 Corvette. He also styled the Boxster and 996-generation 911 at Porsche. His first Ferrari design was the Rossa concept car, though his most famous creation is the Enzo. Now Okuyama runs a design studio that not only is responsible for the new Kode57 supercar that debuted in Monterey this past weekend, but also eye glasses, civic planning, and even Japanese bullet trains. We caught up with Okuyama at the Concorso Italiano car show, plopped down on a couple of plush leather chairs right in front of his brand new Kode57, and chatted about what the future holds for car design. Alex Kierstein: Lately there's been a lot of talk about autonomy and future mobility. What sort of challenges and opportunities do you think this autonomous future is going to provide for you as a car designer? Ken Okuyama: It is a really fantastic time for designers because of two reasons. One is that the public and private transport have been two separate, completely different industries up until now. Now, when you think about the future of autonomy, that really brings the automobiles into something more of a public transportation. You really have to think about the total experience of the customers from buying the ticket to the paying mechanism. That's just hardware, actually. It is a huge challenge for engineers and designers, and I really love that. That's one reason. Another reason is that just like horses were a means of transport 100 or so years ago, up until Henry Ford mass-produced the Model T. Now, maybe sports cars are becoming like horses. Now, horses are a great object for hobby, sports, and part of the Olympics and everything. Cars are going to be like that also. Dr. Porsche [was asked what type of] automobile is going to last for the longest time. He said, "the sports car." I really believe in that, because with sports cars, you never lose a sense of ownership. Autonomous vehicles are things you don't have to own. You have to design a total experience and the whole operation. A car, you want to own it. It's part of you. Your mechanical watches, do you borrow them from somebody? You want to own it. Your suits, your favorite shirts, you want to borrow them from somebody for your experience? No, you want to own it. Ownership is a core part of human beings.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: The next five years

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you've no doubt read about all of the big future product news coming out of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles today. We had individual brand reports from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati and even Ferrari, but in the interest of simplifying and summarizing, we're going to list out the hard facts once more. Of course, with all of this still off in the future, there's still the possibility that a few changes will be made. But as of what we know right now, here's what's coming, and what's going away.
Chrysler
2014: Refreshed 300/300C, debuting at Los Angeles Auto Show

2017 Maserati GranTurismo will only come with a hard hat

If you've been waiting for the next generation of the Maserati GranTurismo to come along before you place your order for a four-seat convertible, you'd better change your plans and act fast. Because the latest report coming in from across the pond confirms what we long suspected: that the next GranTurismo will be offered in coupe form only. The news comes from Auto Express, which quotes Peter Denton – Maserati's manager for Northern Europe – as saying that "The GranTurismo will be replaced at the end of 2017, but as a coupe only." That coupe will also be smaller than the current model, but the timeframe means that by the time it's phased out, the current GT will have been on the market for a staggering ten years – based on architecture dating back to 2003, if not earlier. That doesn't mean that Maserati won't offer a convertible altogether, though. By the time the new GranTurismo arrives, the Trident marque will have introduced the Alfieri, which (like the outgoing GranTurismo) will be offered as both a coupe and a convertible. The trend seems to follow a larger industry direction away from four-seat convertibles – particularly under the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles umbrella. Chrysler discontinued the 200 Convertible, and unlike Ford and Chevy that offer convertible versions of the Mustang and Camaro, Dodge does not offer a convertible Challenger. Aside from the fated GranTurismo Convertible (known as the GranCabrio overseas) and the Jeep Wrangler, the only droptop in the entire sprawling group with more than two seats is the Ferrari California – a model whose presence may have factored in to the decision to discontinue the Maser cabriolet as well. The news will undoubtedly come as welcome to competitors like Aston Martin and Bentley, which between them offer several four-seat convertibles including the DB9 Volante, Vanquish Volante and Continental GTC. It remains to be seen, however, whether Jaguar will offer a convertible version of the next XK to stand alongside the smaller F-Type roadster.