Know all about car design

Author Gautam Sen could never find a book telling him everything there is to know about cars and their designs, so he decided to write one himself.

Author Gautam Sen could never find a book telling him everything there is to know about cars and their designs, so he decided to write one himself.

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His new book, The Car Design Book, was launched at Landmark, Lower Parel on Tuesday and, as its title suggests, is a one-stop shop for all things related to car design.

“Various books have been written on the history of car design, on coach builders and individual designers, but I wanted to bring out one book that would encompass the entire world of auto design,” said Sen, currently the consulting editor for the magazine, Auto India.

The book, covers not just the history of designing and essays on the world’s 18 greatest designers, but also includes chapters on the 50 most beautiful cars and the 50 best concept cars. The kind of cars featured range from the grand Lancia Stratos Zero by Italian designer Marcello Gandini to the Indian Tata Nano.

“Designing small cars is actually far more difficult and complicated than making large, fancy ones,” said Sen, whose previous books include The Maharajas and their Magnificent Motor Cars and The Story of the Star in India.

As advice to budding car designers in the country, Sen stressed the importance of looking beyond styling and shaping.

"You have to think about bringing in design aspects that are both different and relevant in the Indian context,” he said.