The Folded Paper Era and Beyond: Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Iconic Design Journey

Born on August 7, 1938, in Garessio, Italy, Giugiaro came from a family steeped in the arts. At just 14, he enrolled in the Turin Academy of Fine Arts, focusing on technical drawing and industrial design. His talent caught the attention of Fiat’s Dante Giacosa, who hired the young artist at 17. Though his early work at Fiat was behind the scenes, it laid a technical foundation for what would become an extraordinary career.

Giugiaro’s rise accelerated when Nuccio Bertone brought him into Carrozzeria Bertone in 1959. There, he designed the now-iconic 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT, an early taste of his signature aesthetic: clean lines, balance, and subtle aggression. This marked the beginning of a string of design milestones that would place him at the forefront of global automotive styling.

In 1968, Giugiaro co-founded Italdesign with Aldo Mantovani. Their mission was clear and ambitious: unite styling and engineering under one roof to serve global automakers. This move gave Giugiaro creative freedom and access to projects across all market segments. Italdesign quickly became a powerhouse, producing everything from pedestrian city cars to adrenaline-pumping hypercars.

Giugiaro’s reach extended beyond automobiles. His design work touched cameras for Nikon (starting with F3 in 1980), firearms for Beretta (Cx4 Storm, 2003 and U22 Neos, 2002), motorcycles for MV Agusta (Ipotesi, 1973) and Suzuki (the ill-fated, Wankel rotary-powered RE-5, 1974), a pasta shape for Voiello called Marielle (1983), and watches for Seiko (including the Giugiaro 7A28-7000 which was worn by Sigourney Weaver in the 1986 horror/science-fiction movie “Aliens”).

The folded paper aesthetic

Giugiaro’s aesthetic evolved with the times, but his “folded paper” design language of the 1970s and early 1980s left an indelible mark. Characterized by sharp lines, geometric forms, and crisp edges, this aesthetic stood in stark contrast to the organic, curvaceous shapes of the 1960s.

Seiko’s Giugiaro 7A28-7000. Photo: Interport Global Logistics.

1967 Maserati Ghibli

Designed while Giugiaro was at Ghia, the Ghibli might be the most beautiful fastback GT of its era. Its low shark-nose front, slab sides, and pop-up headlights gave it a more modern edge than the rounded coupes of earlier in the decade. The silhouette—a long hood, sleek cabin, and short rear deck—became the blueprint for future GTs, and even influenced American styling, particularly Chrysler’s “fuselage” designs of the early ’70s. Under the skin was a high-tech quad-cam V8 and a five-speed manual, but it was the exterior that made the Ghibli immortal. Still commanding six-figure prices today, the Ghibli’s design took Giugiaro to the pantheon of automotive design, a place Il Maestro remained for the rest of his career.

1967 De Tomaso Mangusta

You can see the resemblance to the Ghibli clearly in the nose of the De Tomaso. The Mangusta, also penned during Giugiaro’s stint at Ghia, was more aggressive from a wedge standpoint and signaled the more angular Pantera that was to come. The Mangusta featured a gullwing door rear engine hatch that was also a precursor to future Giugiaro designs.

1968 Bizzarrini Manta

Though it never saw production, the Manta’s impact was seismic. Completed in just 40 days, this concept car set the tone for an entire generation of wedge-shaped exotics. Its single, unbroken curve from nose to roof was unlike anything seen before—and still feels futuristic today. Most radical, perhaps, was the “Venetian blind” windshield extension below the main glass, which improved downward visibility, and the novel three-across seating with a center driving position. Decades before the McLaren F1 made it legendary, Giugiaro explored the advantages of putting the driver in the middle, citing better visibility, more symmetrical ergonomics, and a driver-centric experience among its advantages. The Manta was bold, eccentric, and pure imagination on wheels.

1974 Volkswagen Golf Mk1

The 1974 Volkswagen Golf Mk1 also exemplified this era. Tasked with answering the question, “How do you replace the legendary VW Beetle,” Giugiaro delivered a two-box design that was clean, efficient, and modern, featuring sharp creases and flat planes. Its enormous success redefined the compact car and established the hatchback as a global standard. Known as the VW Rabbit in the U.S., this is far and away Il Maestro’s most prolific design with seven million examples rolling into the world between 1974 and 2009 when the last variant of the model, South Africa’s Citi Golf, ceased production.

1976 Lotus Esprit

The 1976 Lotus Esprit is perhaps the most emblematic example of the Folded Paper design aesthetic. With its low stance and razor-edged silhouette, it became a visual icon—a look popularized further when it turned into a submarine in the Bond film, “The Spy Who Loved Me.” The extreme wedge was long, low, angular, and devoid of ducts or embellishments that would detract from the sheer simplicity and purposefulness of the design. It was intended to slice cleanly through the wind and straight into our hearts. Which it did. The Esprit helped define the look of the ‘70s and carried on—with some updates—until 2004, by which time it had inspired other designs such as the TVR Tasmin, Vector W8, and more. While many designers created wedges, Giugiaro’s design for Lotus is one of the most iconic and long-standing.

Giugiaro was not done with the limelight, as his 1981 DeLorean DMC-12, with its stainless-steel skin and gullwing doors, became etched into pop culture history. The star of “Back to the Future” had no Mr. Fusion reactor, its anemic V6 engine coming up short and condemning the car to the list of failed independently developed supercars.

The Maestro made many other significant contributions over the years: Isuzu 117 Coupé (1968), the first Italian-designed car manufactured in Japan, BMW M1 (1978), BMW’s first M car and first mid-engined vehicle, and the Lancia Delta (1979), a boxy hatchback that became a motorsports legend.

One of the most remarkable things about Giugiaro is his range. He worked across brands, cultures, and budgets. Throughout his career, he created foundational designs for emerging manufacturers. The Hyundai Pony (1975) was Korea’s first mass-produced car. The Fiat Panda (1980) brought practical minimalism to Europe with its utilitarian boxy shape and flat body panels. He penned more luxurious cars like the Saab 9000, Subaru SVX, Lexus GS, and Audi 4000, each a reflection of his adaptability to regional needs and brand identities. On the far side of his design spectrum, Giugiaro’s more extreme designs included concept cars like the Alfa Romeo Iguana (1969), Maserati Boomerang (1972), and Italdesign Aztec (1988) that showcased extreme ideas while pushing the boundaries of automotive form and technology.

Giugiaro’s enduring design philosophy

Giugiaro’s philosophy is best summarized by his focus on functionality, proportion, and futurism. “It is first and foremost functionality, without a doubt, that validates the project,” he once said. He believed cars should serve their users first, with design that enhances usability without sacrificing style or innovation.

His cars typically followed clear geometric rules, balancing proportions and sight lines to make vehicles look “right” at a glance. Yet he also embraced new technologies, such as lightweight materials and aerodynamic forms, long before they became industry norms.

For Giugiaro, design was always purpose-driven. The Fiat Panda, for example, had flat body panels and easily replaceable parts to lower production costs. The Golf was shaped to maximize interior space while remaining compact and maneuverable.

He was also a proponent of interdisciplinary design. At Italdesign, he employed engineers, designers, and marketers under one roof, ensuring that aesthetics and functionality went hand in hand from inception.

Giugiaro championed constant improvement. “I’m always thinking about the future, about doing what I couldn’t have done before,” he told CNN. His attention to ergonomics, packaging, and production realities made his designs not only beautiful but buildable.

And built they were. With more than 200 models making into production and countless concepts, Giugiaro’s work has touched nearly every corner of the global auto industry, and has often served as a brand-defining moment for companies like Volkswagen, Fiat, Hyundai, and Subaru.

Giugiaro’s contributions have earned him global acclaim. In 1999, a jury of 120 journalists from 32 countries named him “Car Designer of the Century.” In 2002, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame. Forbes dubbed him “the most influential designer in car history.”

Of course, even the most celebrated stylists occasionally miss the mark. Giugiaro was also partly responsible for the much-maligned, low-priced, lower-build-quality Yugo sub-compact hatchback. On some level, it’s sort of comforting to know even the greats can have an off day.