Chris Bangle, former chief of design at BMW, reviews the Bisiluro, the legendary racing car designed by Carlo Mollino for the 1955 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.

Looking at his creation today one sees much more pre-war heritage in the lines and details than one associates with the 1950s’ Car design scene around him. The Bisiluro fits into a category I would call “Non-Car Cars”, those purposeful objects that stir the imaginations of Car designers by allowing them to incorporate a new proportion, perspective, form, structure or detail into their concept of a “Car” without having to carry all the functional and cultural baggage of being “automobiles”.

A wonderful car made by special people for a celebrated race in a glorious Age of Car Design Innocence, what more can one ask for? Designers everywhere have been finding excuses to homage the Bisiluro and its kind in every possible project including Star Wars, and we should all be thankful that this unique example is well cared for and still here to inspire us.

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