One of the most famous car designers of the twentieth century, Giorgetto Giugiaro began by working for Bertone but soon left to set up his own design studios, Ital Design. In the seventies his work became instantly recognizable and he was the main force behind the straight edges and clean lines of that decade. You may not know his name but he was responsible for such cars as the Lotus Esprit, the Volkswagen Passat of 1973, most of the modern Daewoos, and the Maseratis too.

Unlike many Italian car designers, Giugiaro has branched out into all types of industrial design and it is worth taking a wander around the Ital Design website to see which designs you recognize.

But to understand just how good a designer he is, we should have a look at one of latest designs; and what better than the car he took on as a project for his own enjoyment, the Ferrari GG50. Feast your eyes on this gorgeous beastie:

As this blog grows, I find myself writing increasingly of the design of a car, rather than its specifications. I suppose that this is only to be expected in that I have always admitted to being more interested in the look of a car than how fast it is or how reliable.

This leads me naturally to speak of designers and I confess to preferring some above others. Everyone has heard of Pininfarina, for instance, but I consider their designs to be slightly conservative although always successful.

Much more to my taste is the work of Zagato. If any designer is going to take a risk or break new ground, it is Zagato. Often Zagato designs seem strange at first and it is only later that we can see what the intention was. Almost always the cars they design come to be classics in time, however.

Have a wander around the Zagato website, particularly the gallery, and you will see what I mean. Note how the modern Zagato Aston Martin DB7 echoes the classic DB4 that the company designed in the sixties.

These days the Germans produce some very clean and purposeful designs and the Japanese too have some interesting designers. But, if it’s pure, unadulterated beauty you want, the answer must come, as it always has, from Italy. And Zagato is one of their best.