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VW Group design chief Walter de'Silva designs Leica M9 Titanium

By Michael DiTullo - October 19, 2010

in Featured Items

Walter de'Silva has influenced the design of many Alfa Romeos, Seats, Audis and now, as head of design for the entire Volkswagen Group, is responsible for the design direction of everything from Bentleys and Lamborghinis to the new VW Golf. Leica, the iconic German optics company, recently asked de'Silva design a limited titanium edition of their M9. De'Silva follows in the footsteps of fellow car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who designed for Canon and whose ItalDesign studio de'Silva's employers recently acquired.

Only 500 examples of the limited-edition, de'Silva-designed Leica M9 Titanium will be produced, going for (cough) $31,300 apiece... it seems you don't get a free VW with it though....

Disregarding the exorbitant princely sum it takes to purchase one of these, I do love how restrained the the M9 Titanium is with a focus on function and materiality. I wish Mr de'Silva could influence his teams at the VW group to maintain a similar design ethic. In my opinion, the VW and Audi lines of product of late have ever creeping amounts of superfluously stylized surfaces, moving away from the appropriately Bauhaus inspired styles Freeman Thomas and Jay Mays designed in the early 2000's. For reference, below is a comparison between the 2001 and 2010 Audi TT.

via Autoblog

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kmisad

14 years ago

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I fully agree with you Phil...I just post a similar post that never got through....let s see this time, I ll be nice and say no more things...haha....
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Phil

14 years ago

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Da Silva's best work was for Alfa Romeo because it was inspired and went back to the roots without being at all retro - tghe 156 is still looking fresh after all these years...; all his work at Seat & Audi seems contrived in comparison; as for the Leica...if no one had told me, I'd hardly have noticed that this was any different than a normal production version...a bit of 'hype' by Leica to get some much needed attention to their expensive and excellent cameras.
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pwawoe

14 years ago

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the original TT is still better looking than the current one. The theme consistency in details inside and out was perfect. It got lost in the re-deisgn, becoming a more "generic" car. Just look at the gas flap old and new, it's just one example.
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kmisad

14 years ago

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In my opinion De Silva is over estimated. When the Alfa 152 came out I was really amazed with car, but after that the works of De Silva at Seat didn't amazed me. As he came to Audi he did some brilliant work. But mostly I believe that he had the base forms to work on, as is tha case of M9. Try to compare the work of De Silva with the one of Luc Donckerwolke, he 's constant, he keeps doing brilliant job all the way. The Audi TT of 2010 it s a simple retouch of the design of J Mays and F Thomas...
As for the ergonomy thing I can not say anything if I will not see the M9 in real, though I can say I have some doubdts.
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Zach Hastings

14 years ago

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While I agree many of the new automotive designs seem overwrought, I think there's a justifiable cause behind it (Including the new TT pictured above).

Whether it's self imposed or market and safety driven, automotive designers are (at least in my observation) having to address thicker and thicker belt lines. A lot of this 'clever' surfacing seems like a desperate (or reasonable) attempt to mask a bloated pig.

Design, aesthetically speaking, is primarily an exercise in proportions and the canvas is changing.

I can't remember the last new vehicle I've driven that enabled me to perch my elbow atop the door - windows down, hair flowing.

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slippyfish

14 years ago

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Its a beautiful camera, appropriately restrained as you describe. I don't agree with your last paragraph (perhaps there is a bias toward the original TT...?) There are ten years between the two cars, and VW/Audi has come a long way in terms of style and acceptance, and is now quite the "teacher's pet" as the C&D article wrote. The new TT always makes me double-take into thinking its an R8, and their 'superfluous style' looks sober compared to the splashy lines from their German competition.
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