The free exhibition, which is being held as part of the Turin Motor Show, features the work from students at four of Europe's leading design schools - Italy's IAAD; international network IED; France's ISD Rubika; and Sweden's UMEA.
Each design is different, but each started with students responding to the same brief relating to how the next generation of cars will look and feel and how they will communicate visually with their owners.
"The best way to celebrate the past is to look to the future," said Pininfarina chairman Paolo Pininfarina. "This is the reason why Pininfarina decided, at the end of 2015, to close the celebrations for its 85th anniversary promoting a workshop aimed at aspiring designers, some of which we hope to welcoming soon in our team."
In all 80 students took part in the workshop and each school involved was shadowed by a current Pininfarina designer. A total of 16 designs - four from each school were selected for the exhibition which is housed in the Borgo Medievale of Torino a medieval castle and open-air museum.
"The response was enthusiastic and originated projects full of cues that hint at a new future in the way cars will be used," said Chief Creative Officer Fabio Filippini.
For example, A-Craft, designed by IED students Kaihang Huang and Salvatore Ville examines how the relationship between man and machine is morphing as new forms of mobility and functionality evolve and how this will shape the cabin of tomorrow. A-Craft offers users private, semi-private and public space and uses magnetic levitation for suspending the seats and making them comfortable no matter what the terrain.
Eredita Romana, from ISD Rubika students Robinson Mancaux, Yann Marez, Ewan Duchamps, Pierre-Hughes Vallin, Maxime Barthelemy and Luis Barbesier, takes things to the opposite extreme with a back to basics approach that offers drivers a control mode akin to riding a horse or that converts into a lounge space when the car is driving itself.
The Individuale, designed by IAAD's Andrea Ortile, Gabriele Rizzi, Marco Zafferana, Francesco Palumbo, Alessio Coci and Andrea Costa is about changing to suit the driver's emotional as well as practical needs. Though the car is autonomous, a manual override system gives the driver control via two arm-operated levers so that sensation and emotion are heightened with each command or movement.
The exhibition is free to the public and runs until June 12.
