ABOUT

The Future Look

This may be the most 70's car I've made yet, beating the Countach by a solid mile. This road-going spaceship came from Bertone's Stratos family. Almost any gearhead will recognise the legendary Stratos HF in any of its forms. Be it as a prototype, rally racer or event the curious silhouette configuration. But among all the love for this car, a critical part of it is often left out. The mythical Stratos Zero. The retroactively named Zero was made by Bertone to impress Lancia and secure them as the designers for their following Rally effort.

This project looks to uncover a missing link between the design of the original Zero and the better known HF. Starting with the HF's body, the sleek front lights from the zero were incorporated. The lower front bumper was also remolded into a sleeker shape, along with drastic changes to the top grill which now allows the observer to peek inside. The front cooling was moved further along to the rear as the new design allows for better cooling of the, now longitudinal, Dino V6.

Being meant as a design concept car, rather than an actual road going affair, a few more extravagant decisions were made. The front wheel arches were cut out, laying bare the tops of the front tires. This allows for a raw, uncommon look as well as great amusement for any lucky drivers and observers. A second omission were the sideview mirrors as none were present on the Zero and even some versions of the HF went without them. A set was designed but withheld to preserve the visual flow.

The New Angles

This series was an amazing opportunity to explore some new shots and camera angles. Horror-themed title cards aside, the vehicle lent itself to close-up shots in fresh new ways. Certain details such as the dampened exhaust hangers and the semi-open front wheels feel like eyecandy to any enthusiast.

Some care was taken to recreate the uneasy feeling given by odd and uneven framing often employed in horror cinematography. This little visual exploration allowed me to break off from the lightbox setup I've been using for the past few series, as well as experiment with a new way to recreate something akin to liminal space photography around the subject. Perhaps someday a series of empty sets will be in order.

Another area of experimentation lays with the offset vertical slats. The idea was to create a more era-appropriate set closer to the vehicle while having a more disconnected scene lurking off in the distance.

The Tomorrow Feel

The futuristic images left behind by the Stratos development feel, to this day, futuristic. It is an odd notion, to know that five decades later we are yet to go back to the strong yet dynamic shapes seen in 60's and 70's automotive design. Today's super, hyper and megacars blow us away with technological prowess and extreme designs. And yet somehow most of them fail to capture the public's imagination the same way the spaceship era cars did. The holy trinity of supercars displays an incredible mastery over automotive design. And yet the Bertone spaceship designs look far more alien.

The Alfa Romeo Carabo, the Lamborghini Countach and the Lancia Stratos Zero.

Three outlandish designs by Marcello Gandini which to this day stand out from anything else on the road. There is an amazing essence to this visual philosophy.

In this project I aimed to follow these ideals. To make something that will look foreign to everyone no matter how much time passes. The open rear borrowed from the Zero bears hidden inverted taillights from the HF Prototype. The sides bear the iconic graphic, also from the Zero, along with the offset exhaust and partially exposed drivetrain. And as a nod to the creator, the rear wheel arches also carry a unique profile, tied in with the side graphic for visual harmony.