This Month in Car Design – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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This Month in Car Design

Car Design News

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/26d. Total Eps: 8

A monthly podcast from the CDN editorial team delivering sharp insight into the stories, people and trends shaping global automotive design - from concept cars and production launches to leadership moves, emerging talent and the technologies redefining how cars are created.

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - automotive
31/08/2026
#66
🇬🇧 Great Britain - automotive
30/08/2026
#49
🇫🇷 France - automotive
24/08/2026
#73
🇩🇪 Germany - automotive
23/08/2026
#92
🇩🇪 Germany - automotive
22/08/2026
#82
🇩🇪 Germany - automotive
21/08/2026
#71
🇩🇪 Germany - automotive
20/08/2026
#56
🇩🇪 Germany - automotive
19/08/2026
#42
🇩🇪 Germany - automotive
18/08/2026
#30
🇬🇧 Great Britain - automotive
16/08/2026
#80

Spotify

No recent rankings available

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Score global : 42%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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This Month In Car Design Trailer

Season 1

Friday, January 30, 2026 • Duration 01:18

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March: If technology is the answer, what was the question?

Season 1 · Episode 3

Monday, March 30, 2026 • Duration 32:23

This month the team reflects on conversations around design tools, where digital and physical processes continue to merge.

Chat also turns toward recent launches including the BMW i3, Volkswagen ID. Unyx 08 and Changan’s aviation-inspired S05 (which we drove on an airfield this week, no less).

The team also discuss what’s coming up in April, with trips to Germany, Italy and China in the works. Plus, a new monthly focus on future material trends (get in touch!)

Subscribers can access all content flagged during this episode, including:

Granstudio’s DigiPHY interior buck https://www.cardesignnews.com/partner-content/digiphy-the-design-process/492094

The all new BMW i3 (or is that 3-Series?) https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/bmw-welcomes-new-i3-to-the-3series-family/2631005

Volkswagen’s collaboration with Xpeng for the ID. Unyx 08 https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/vw-design-team-builds-confident-new-suv-on-xpengs-electric-platform/2630088

Andrea Mocellin on AI tools and “human instinct” https://www.cardesignnews.com/design-tools/andrea-mocellin-you-need-to-rely-on-your-instincts/2625127

The DS No.7, or as James refers to it, “the Mambo No. 5” https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/ds-continues-to-evolve-its-latest-design-language-in-the-new-no7/2629780

Sharon Gauci retires from GM

February: Autonomous driving, Ferrari Luce and special guest Robert Forrest

Season 1 · Episode 2

Monday, March 2, 2026 • Duration 36:39

This month the team discussed: 

Autonomous driving, with stories involving Lucid, Tesla, Tensor, UE Studios and a chat with Romulus Rost (who designed the interior of the original Audi TT)

A visit to MG and SAIC’s ever philosophical chief designer Jozef Kaban

A conversation with design expert Robert Forrest live in the studio, touching on tech-led strategies and brand power. Plus, will car brands ever appoint a Head of Autonomous Vehicle Design?

People news at VW, Leapmotor and Ford China, plus an update on former Volvo design boss Jeremy Offer

What’s coming up with CDN in March, with trips to Germany, Sweden and The Cotswolds and a new monthly focus on design tools (get in touch!)

Subscribers can access all content flagged during this episode, including:

Freddie’s visit to UE Studios: https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/new-av-shuttle-has-a-compelling-design-but-will-the-project-take-off/2607769

James gets philosophical with Jozef Kaban: https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/jozef-kaban-we-need-to-be-the-light-for-the-whole-system-not-just-design/2607688

Lucid’s Derek Jenkins talks luxury AVs: https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/designing-autonomous-luxury-at-lucid/2606686

Tensor Robocar: https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/tensor-robocar-the-personal-autonomous-vehicle-shaped-by-sensors/2613315

April: Beijing, beer leather and Bentleys

Season 1 · Episode 4

Monday, May 4, 2026 • Duration 42:50

CMF innovation, global auto shows and the future of car design take centre stage in this month’s Car Design News in Review.

The team discusses playful materials and sustainable finishes, then dives into highlights from the Beijing Auto Show and Milan Design Week, from standout concepts and immersive installations to shifting design trends in China and Europe.

Also featured: major industry people moves, profile insights, and key cars including Kia EV4, Honda Super N and Rolls-Royce Project Nightingale. Plus, what’s coming up in lighting, education and design events.

Subscribers can access all content flagged during this episode, including:

The design VP’s intriguing hippie backstory. AMC Gremlin features https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/bryan-nesbitt-between-soul-and-system/2638466

Materials quiz – beer leather anyone? https://www.cardesignnews.com/cmf/top-colour-amp-trim-trends/2647218

Doh! Skoda’s colourful Milan installation https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/skodas-playdoh-inspired-installation-at-milan-design-week/2654000

Freelander returns and this time it’s a brand https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/freelander-reborn-incredibly-in-2026/2653676

Audi lands a UFO in Milan https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/audi-lands-a-ufo-at-porto-venezia/2652751

Honesty in materials with Halycon https://www.cardesignnews.com/cmf/halcyons-craftled-approach-to-personalised-restomods/2652449

Car design in May: The good, the bad, and the Luce

Season 1 · Episode 5

Monday, June 1, 2026 • Duration 30:21

In the latest episode of This Month in Car Design, the team consider some last-minute news that is hot off the press: the Ferrari Luce.

The brand’s first electric car has caused quite a stir, and the Car Design News team dig into its exterior and interior before addressing broader reactions among the design community. It’s the second time the Luce has taken the pod by storm in just a few months…

The team also consider another significant new launch in the BMW Vision Alpina, a concept that marks the first public work of award-winning designer Maximilian Missoni. It does not preview a forthcoming car exactly, but it is a strong start.

It is also degree show season and we are back from a couple of visits to design schools with more on the way very soon. Do students still want to specialise in particular disciplines? Are clay models still being put together? And are these exhibitions the best way for students to get jobs? Listen in to hear our thoughts.

Elsewhere, James wears a new hat, we muse over the next ‘popemobile’ and reflect on May’s focus on lighting design; conversations with CALTY’s Ian Cartabiano and Stellantis’ Philipp Roeckl go in slightly different directions – one addresses Japanese principles around shadow and architecture while the other draws comparisons to Christmas trees on wheels.

The pod closes with a round-up of people moves that took place this month, and looks ahead to next month’s focus theme: advanced design. Join us again next month for more car design chat.

https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/luce-is-a-new-chapter-in-ferrari-design/2669808

https://www.cardesignnews.com/interiors/is-ferraris-luce-interior-a-masterclass-in-hmi/2604887

https://www.cardesignnews.com/lighting/we-dont-want-a-driving-christmas-tree-stellantis-philipp-roeckl-on-lighting/2668245

June: Audi Nuvloari, JLR’s new concept and all change at GM

Season 1 · Episode 6

Monday, July 6, 2026 • Duration 36:22

This month it is the Audi Nuvolari that had chins wagging across the car design world. The CDN team give their take on the unexpected hypercar and the direction of Audi’s form language under now not-so-new design chief Massimo Frascella.

We also reflect on ‘Project Cornerstone’, a new concept (and initiative) from JLR to create recycled components and reuse materials, and share some takeaways from our various interviews on the theme of Advanced Design.

Our resident student correspondent Lucy reports on recent travels to design school degree shows, and shares alpine tales from the Skoda Peaq launch. Freddie recounts a visit to Rome with smart, and the enviable task of creating a Gulf livery Escort RS. Meanwhile, James has mixed feelings about the new electric Mazda but enjoyed an exclusive interview with GM’s latest retiree Andrew Smith.

Stories mentioned in this pod include:

https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/the-audi-nuvolari-shows-what-frascella-has-in-store-for-audi/2676110

https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/june-focus-advanced-design/2676033

https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/smmt-test-day-2026-manuals-muscle-cars-and-a-gti-masterclass/2675687

https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/umea-uid-2026-degree-show-highlights/2672969

https://www.cardesignnews.com/cars/first-sight-skoda-peaq/2692706

July: Goodwood, shooting brakes and cowboy hats

Season 1 · Episode 7

Monday, August 3, 2026 • Duration 34:33

This month the team looks back on Goodwood which as always was more than a festival of speed and a celebration of design both old and new.

It was also a chance to see both the Audi Nuvolari and Ferrari Luce in a new context. Between expensive ice creams we caught up with plenty of designers, one of whom sported an impressively on-brand cowboy hat.

Away from the show we drew inspiration from the master of the shooting brake, Niels van Roij, and concocted our own long-tail versions based on the Rover 75, Nissan Figaro and Renault Wind.

But our main focus throughout July was the nebulous topic of ‘surfacing’ and we reflect on conversations with the likes of Lucid, Maserati, Lamborghini and many more.

Lucy recaps her latest student degree show visit – this time to the RCA – which revealed contrasting themes of brutalism and fragility: one student built a model from concrete, another from foil.

Freddie is back from Munich and shares his thoughts on the reveal of the new Xpeng L03 which is destined for European shores, while James reflects on a fascinating discussion with Lucid’s Derek Jenkins.

Other chat includes the prompt “more amphibious”, designers touring museums and a tribute to James’ trusty hat which was eaten by his dog.

As always, head to the Car Design News website for everything else including our live and virtual events, magazines and annual coffee table book.

Stories mentioned in this episode include:

https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/university-of-wales-trinity-saint-david-transportation-design-degree-show-review/2709482

https://www.cardesignnews.com/designers/derek-jenkins-on-the-art-of-automotive-surfacingnbsp/2707455

This Month in Car Design – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

This Month in Car Design – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other94

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other94

Apple Podcasts

Spotify