On 19 December 2019, a major show car on the world stage is being delivered, and it is scheduled to be unveiled on 6 January 2020 in Las Vegas at the Consumers Electronic Show (C.E.S.).
It is the debut of Japanese electronics giant Sony in the automotive sector, its name is Vision S, and its stated goal is to enter the electric mobility sector also through integrated electronic systems dedicated to safety, driver assistance, and infotainment. 
Magna Steyr is a partner of Sony for various activities including a dynamic show car.
STUDIOTORINO was the technical advisor for the construction  of the Show Car for Magna Steyr Italy.
For the Stola family, there could not have been a more important occasion to end this month of December, coinciding with 100 years of work on the automobile that began in Turin back in 1919.

Rivoli 19 December 2019. at the Mercury modeling shop. The official photo of the Sony Vision S together with part of the Team. From left Beppe Aiola, Ermes Rizzardi, Valentino Vernacea, Robert Vernacea, Cristian Damiano, Massimo Mingozzi, Pier Germano, Walter Isabello, Silvano Grasso, Maurizio Damiano, Beppe Comollo, Massimo Picariello (ARAS), Gianpaolo Bedin (Raitec), Luca Curbis, Roberto Gatto (GR Painting), Sokol Kroni (GR Painting), Federico Cantillo (Magna Steyr), Ruffo Domenico, Luca Corbelli, Stefano Vair, Sony Memnber, Manfred Pircher (Magna Steyr), Marcus Haubenwallner (Magna Steyr), Sergio Prandi (Magna Steyr), Davide Secoli, Flavio Secoli, Tiziano Novo (Magna Steyr) and Alfredo Stola (Studiotorino)

The Vision S's beautiful exterior and interior design is the work of the Sony Style Centre in Tokyo, while the colours and materials are from their European centre in Lund.
The platform (chassis, mechanics, electric motors and battery) is provided by Magna Steyr Austria, the body and interior engineering and sub-assembly construction and assembly is by Magna Steyr Italy.
Among the Magna managers directly involved are Manfred Pircher Project Director, Marcus Haubenwallner, Tiziano Novo General Manager of the Magna Italy division and Sergio Prandi Project Leader in Italy.

Rivoli October 2019. The resident Sony Team at the Mercury offices.

Rivoli October 2019. From the left we can recognize L. Curbis, M. Mingozzi, S. Vair, X, F. Secoli and a. Stole.

Rivalta November 22, 2019 at the Aras prototype saddling department directed by Massimo Picariello.
Piero Dimonopoli, together with Sergio Prandi with the manager of the Sony Style Center
Swedish company whose headquarters are in the city of Lund.

Rivalta November - December 2019 at Aras. From the left we can recognize Tina, Gaetano Bottiglieri and Aldina.

Davide Secoli, Flavio Secoli and Federico Cantillo.Flavio Secoli

Rivoli November 2019. A visit to the prototype before painting by Helmut Gasser vice president Magna Engeenering Germany and Italy, present at that time Tiziano Novo general manager of Magna Steyr Italy and Alfredo Stola.

Turin 16-17 November 2019. At the Four Studios center, the technicians of Magna Steyr Austria at work for 48 consecutive hours, in shifts, for dynamic tests and related softweare adjustments.

None November 26, 2019 at GR Painting. The painting activities begin, Alfredo Stola describes the detail of the Sony Vision S logo to Tiziano Novo. From the left you can recognize ...

M. Catania, Soko, E. Trentinella, F. Pezzolati, S. Gatto, R. Gatto and A. Stola.In the foreground K. Sokol, F. Cantillo and R. Gatto. In the background F. Pezzolati, M. Mingozzi and B. Biswajit.

We recognize K. Sokol and E. Trentinella.The historic painter Erminio Trentinella.

None November 29, 2019. From left X, Y, Ueda Arinobu and Sergio Prandi.

On 10 December 2019 in Rivoli, just a few days before the delivery of the Show Car, a very important deliberation meeting took place between the Sony Management and the Magna Steyr Presidency; the objectives were to verify the quality of the bodywork and interior and the functionality of the systems.
There are only 9 days left to transport the Concept from Rivoli to Las Vegas, and its arrival at the Sony booth inside the Convention Center is scheduled for 2 January 2020.

Rivoli December 6, 2019 at the Mercury model shop. Sergio Prandi in coordination with Tiziano Novo,
prepares the most important visit scheduled for 10 December a few days before.
The full Sony Team and President Magna Steyr are expected to arrive. 

Rivoli 7 December 2019.

 Rivoli 9 December 2019. The electronic and electrical team of Magna Steyr Austria at work for the last refinements.
They recognize each other ...

Rivoli 10 December 2019. the Teams at work. From the left you can recognize Davide Secoli, Beppe Aiola, Massimo Mingozzi, from behind Frank Klein, X, Y, Z, K, Tiziano Novo, W, J.

Rivoli 10 December 2019 at 08:00. Waiting for the arrival of the Sony Management, scheduled for 09:00. On the right, an intense discussion between the general manager of Mgna Steyr Italia Tiziano Novo and Frank Klein, president of Magna Steyr; between the two Alfredo Stola from Studiotorino and Davide Secoli from Mercury. On the left in the foreground Sergio Prandi of Magna Steyr head of Sony Vision S project, next to him of the resident Sony Team Ishibashi Hidenori.

Rivoli 10 December 2019 at 09: 00. A manager from Sony management presents the progress of the work.

Rivoli 10 December 2019 at 10:45 am begins the inspection of the Vision S prototype now "almost" finished.

Rivoli 10 December 2019 at 12:00. Sergio Prandi demonstrates the operation of the front lighting group to Sony Management and to the President of Magna Steyr. From the left you can recognize ............

Rivoli 10 December 2019. Sony's Management examines other details of the Vision S.
You recognize .............................. ...............................................

Rivoli December 16, 2019. The rims made for Magna Steyr Italia by 2elle Engineering
are the last components to arrive.

Rivoli December 16. Davide Secoli and Massimo Mingozzi.Rivoli December 16. From Team Sony X and Ueda Arinobu.

Rivoli 17 December. Takuya Motoishi.Rivoli 17 December. F. Cantillo, A. Stola and S. Prandi, X, Y

Teams Sony, Magna Austria, Magna Italy and Studiotorino interacted throughout the Show Car's construction period, working side by side in Rivoli.
Sophisticated low-speed dynamic testing of the driving systems took place in a large, secure facility in Turin by Team Sony and Magna Austria before departure for the US, making the Vision S a Show Car that is functional in every detail like few others.

17 December 2019 Rivoli. Part of the Sony Team, Magna Steyr Austria, Magna Steyer Italia and Studiotorino and Mercury pose in a souvenir photo before transporting the Vision S to the Four Studios photographic theater in Turin. We recognize from Sinistra F. Secoli, A Stola, M. Mingozzi, T. Novo ................................ ..............................

18 December 2019 Turin. The photographer Piotr Degler Jablonski, commissioned by Magna Steyr Italia,
begins the official photographic service.

December 31, 2019.The result of the post-production of the photo shoot made in Turin on December 18:
the official photos of Sony Vision S.

January 2, 2020. The Sony Vision S prototype by truck arrives at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Los Angeles.

January 6, 2020 Las Vegas. At the Sony booth, CEO presents the Vision S concept to the press.

January 6, 2020 Las Vegas. Alfredo Stola together with Manfred Pircher (project leader Magna Steyr Austria) and Tiziano Novo (General Manager Magna Steyr Italy) toast to the success of the presentation that has just ended.

It is also for this reason, namely the great functionality and thus the realism of this Show Car, that at the conclusion of the Las Vegas event, on 10 January 2020, the international jury of accredited journalists awarded the Sony Vision S the 'Best of the Show' award.

10 January 2020 Las Vegas the delivery of the prestigious award to Team Sony.

 

In the second half of 2020, a collaboration between Studiotorino and the European Institute of Design in Turin was born. Maria Paola Stola gets a university teaching position in a Transportation Design workshop with eighty students for eighty hours of lessons.
The teaching is completely online due to the lockdown for Covid 19 with the students divided into four classes from various parts of the world; due to the different time zones, students were forced to make particular sacrifices.

Spring 2020. Villarbasse. Online lessons from the Stola home studio.

Throughout the 100 years of the work history of the Stola family, the fundamental technological steps of design and construction of the automobile have been analysed and re-evaluated, the fundamental phases for the realization of prototypes were established in Stola s.p.a. and later in Studiotorino.
In parallel, the students designed a lunar rover in accordance with NASA's plans for the Artemis Mission, that will bring the first woman and another man to the moon in the year 2024.
The lessons held over a three-month period focused not only on the mobility of the earth but also on that of our natural satellite.
A group project, normally carried out in the classroom with exchanges of views and knowledge, given the pandemic situation, had to be transformed into individual projects. Eighty lunar Rover projects will be progressed following the technical guidelines published by NASA aimed at industries all over the world.
Here are some examples of the work done.

The second workshop which took place in the first semester A.A. 2020-21 focused once again on the work done by the Stola family in the automotive field over 100 years.
The evolution over time of the creation of the car and all the steps required to bring a car into production.
Processes that naturally concern the world of design.
The collaboration with the IED university was stimulating from an intellectual point of view, prompting us to retrace the history of 100 years over and over again.

One of the most exciting topics of this workshop.Unpublished films, complete projects and exclusive photos of particular cars such as the Lancia Stratos Zero, seen after the restoration of the mechanics followed by Alfredo Stola for the collector Phillip Sarofim.
The thing that most gratified us was the satisfaction, interest and passion shown by the students and the management of IED Turin led by Professor Michele Albera.

Autumn 2020. Maria Paola Stola during the DAD lessons.

 

On 2 July 2020, in this year of lockdown for Covid 19, Maria Paola Stola for Studiotorino was external speaker for the graduation theses of the students Skender Zdrava and Fabrizio Allione of IAAD (Institute of Applied Art and Design).
As usual, the titles of the theses were chosen by Studiotorino, a commissioned work is simulated
whereby the student becomes the "supplier".

2 July 2020 Room X Online discussion of IAAD Torino theses.

Commisione di tesi per Skender Zdrava Discussion of Fabrizio Allione's thesis.

The titles this year were “Porsche Udara” with Zdrava, an electric SUV designed on the chassis of the Taycan model, an exercise in interior and exterior style following the philosophy of Studiotorino.

Another project,” Maserati Zefiro” by Allione, a Gran Turismo inspired by the Maserati stylistic elements of the 70s with notable modern interpretations.

Final sketch of the Maserati Zefiro, STUDIOTORINO custom-built by Fabrizio Allione.

Various stages of design research.

The undergraduates presented their theses online in July, but, with great surprise given the situation, on 6 October, Dr. Laura Milani, director of IAAD, organized an unforgettable graduation ceremony which was held at the Juventus Stadium. Three hundred students heard their name announced by the historic speaker of the Turin team, in front of a restricted but still numerous audience of parents, friends and teachers.

6 October 2020. Juventus Stadium Turin. Graduation Day IAAD 2020.

The director Dr. Laura Milani proclaims the graduates.Professor Masato Inoue and Maria Paola.

6 October 2020. Juventus Stadium Turin. Proclamation of Skender Zdrava.

6 October 2020. Juventus Stadium Turin. Proclamation by Fabrizio Allione.

 

On 12 August 2020, twin prototypes known by design codes Nice 1 and Nice 2, left from Rivoli. These acronyms were no coincidence, in fact they refer to the famous city of the Côte d'Azur designated as the start for the Tour de France.
France 2020. Photos of the Grenadier team between stages of the Tour de France. From left Egan Bernal, Michael Kwiatkowski, Luke Rowe, Richard Carapaz, Jonathan Castroviejo, Andrei Amador, Dylan Van Baarle, Pavel Sivakov.Grenadier, a new start-up in the automotive sector, is part of the of the global chemical giant Ineos group.
The brand is known to the general public for the extraordinary sporting passion of its founder Jim Ratcliffe who formed the Grenadier cycling team "Ineos TeamUK" and the Britannia monohull that participated in the 2021 edition of the American's Cup.
They are also sponsors of the two Mercedes - AMG W11 EQs, registered for the 2020 Formula 1 world championship.

 

In 2020 the Brands Ineos, Grenadier, and Ineos TeamUK are present at the highest level in the world in the sports disciplines of Formula 1, cycling and nautical.

Magna Steyr’s Austrian and Italian divisions were important partners of Ineos in the realisation of this project with STUDIOTORINO acting as technical advisor to Magna Steyr Italia directed by Tiziano Novo for the realization of the prototypes with particular responsibility for quality.
The complete platform (chassis, engine, electronics, road test) and the mathematical surfaces were provided by Magna Steyr Austria as the complete engineering of the bodywork, while the engineering of the bodywork and assembly of the prototype was the work of Magna Steyr Italia

From left Stefano Vayr, Pier.

Luca Curbis and Davide SecoliLuca Curbis and Massimo Mingozzi

Da sinistra Davide Secoli, Carlo Carena, Tiziano Novo and Roberto Gatto

Flavio SecoliCarlo Carena

.Silvano Grosso.Massimo Mingozzi

.Roberto Gatto

From left Massimo Mingozzi, Luca Curbis, Walter Isabello e Luca Iraldi.

The Grenadier was the first project of the Covid 19 period, having started in January 2020.
Despite everything it did not suffer any delay thanks to a particularly active management putting good use to most advanced remote communication systems and in the immediate application of the effective health protection systems both in the Magna Steyr Italia technical offices and in the Mercury modeling shop.
Among the Managers involved in the project were Carlo Carena and Michael Messing, coordinated respectively by Hans Peter Pessler and Tiziano Novo.

From left: Davide Secoli, Carlo Carena, Alfredo Stola
and Flavio Secoli.Job Zwollo reference manager in Ineos for the Grenadier project

Ineos coordinator Job Zwollo, was memorable for his tireless efforts in coordination "smart working" despite the problems created by the pandemic.
Teams Ineos, Magna Austria, Magna Italia and STUDIOTORINO interacted throughout the prototype construction period, working side by side Mercury at their Rivoli modeling facility.
The goal of these two Ineos Grenadier prototypes is future series production scheduled for 2022.

Rivoli 11 August 2020 at the Mercury modeling. From the Left Silvano Grosso, Luca Curbis, Gabriel Secoli, Robert Vernacea, Stefano Vayr, Valentino Vernacea, Alfredo Stola (Studiotorino), Massimo Mingozzi, Carlo Carena (Magna Steyr) Job Zwollo (Ineos), Davide Secoli, Tiziano Novo (Magna Steyr), Ermes Rizzardi, Beppe Aiola, Cristian Damiano, Maurizio Damiano and Beppe Comollo.

 

Studiotorino in the academic year 2020/21 for the IAAD university, decided to assign thesis titles that did not address the issues of traditional mobility.
Maria Paola Stola was external advisor for these two degree theses by the students Miriel Merulla and Marco Traversa.

 

Graduate Miriel Merulla was asked to imagine and design a Lunar Rover Vehicle for the NASA Artemis 2024 mission, later postponed to 2025, which will bring the first woman and another man to the moon.
First step to approach the reality of a group of astronauts who will prepare the journey to Mars from our natural satellite with a large deployment of means. The project has been studied in detail with skills acquired from materials available on the sites of NASA and private partners, the name of this multifunctional vehicle is SOULMOON.
The next frontier of mobility starts from the Moon and Studiotorino is already ready to open its horizons with new vehicles.

  Read the thesis Click Here

 

 

The graduate Marco Traversa in the academic year 2020/21 for the IAAD university instead ventured on a work of absolute fantasy, the brief was to be inspired by the VisionGT contest created for the Sony Gran Turismo videogame which proposed to design concept cars for videogame competitions.
It was decided to develop a one-off LANCIA with the commemorative name G.L.-ONE in honor of Gianni Lancia who had strongly wanted and founded the racing department of the Turin company.

1953 Gianni Lancia a few minutes before the start of his Lancia D24.1983. Lancia LC 2

The inspiration for this video game Gran Turismo comes from that magical period of the 1980s of the Lancia Martini Endurance, piloted and driven to their maximum victories by the great drivers Patrese and Alboreto.

 Read the thesis Click Here

 

On 29 June both theses were discussed online, in addition to Maria Paola Stola and the two undergraduates, Masato Inoue was present...

 

29 June 2021 Maria Paola Stola.

 

15 October 2021 Allianz Stadium in Turin.

Maria Paola Stola and Miriel Merulla.Maria Paola Stola and Marco Traversa.

October 15, 2021. Some moments of the ceremony in which Miriel Merulla and Marco Traversa are proclaimed.

Los Angeles: Petersen Museum in Wilshire Boulevard.

 

 

In the autumn of 2022 the Ruf R Spyder with STUDIOTORINO bodywork by collector John Lotz is on display at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.
An extraordinary visit to the Museum on October 4th meant that Alois Ruf told Messrs. Wolfagang Porsche, Ferdi Porsche and Riqui Piech about this rare custom-built car.

 

Autumn 2022: the Ruf R Spyder with Studiotorino bodywork on display temporary at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.

4 October 2022: at the Petersen Museum Alois Ruf, Wolfgang Porsche, Ferdi Porsche and Riqui Piech.

 

STUDIOTORINO between April and October 2022 was involved by Magna Steyr Italia directed by Tiziano Novo in a project relating to a Special Edition example of the W Motor Tipo Fenyr.
The activities requested are technical support to the work team, the selection of materials and colors for the interiors.
The project manager for Magna Italia is Carlo Carena.
Regarding the choice of materials and colors, Maria Paola Stola who selected them were then shared and confirmed by Ralph Debbas.

Rivoli 25 October 2022 at Mercury: Maria Paola Stola, Luca Curbis, Susy, Stefano Vair, Alfredo Stola. Davide Secoli, Tiziano Novo, Flavio Secoli, Carlo Carena and Roberto Gatto on the day of the expedition.