Legendary automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro is in stable condition following a harrowing rollover crash in Italy. The Italian automotive publication, Quattroruote, reported on the incident and the famed designer’s injuries. The longstanding magazine also noted that although Giugiaro resides nearby, the road he was traveling on is particularly sketchy and prone to crashes:
Giorgetto Giugiaro is miraculously alive: after a serious accident yesterday around 1 p.m. in Sardinia, the designer suffered multiple injuries, including a vertebra, his face, and his lower limbs.
The legendary “pencil man,” who turns 87 on August 7, was driving his [Land Rover] Defender in Abbiadori (Costa Smeralda) when he lost control on a hairpin bend, plunging 15 meters to the road below. Without involving other vehicles or people, the vehicle overturned several times on the treacherous stretch of road, also due to its winding terrain, which is often the scene of accidents.
Although first responders were quick to the scene, the seemingly spry Giugiaro was quicker. He had already extricated himself from his mangled SUV and was waiting for emergency services when they arrived. As Quattroruote detailed:
Emergency medical services, the Arzachena Fire Department, and the local police are immediately on the scene, ascertaining the circumstances of the accident. Giugiaro was waiting for them, standing on his own two feet, like a 15-year-old after a fall from his bike. He was airlifted to the Giovanni Paolo II Hospital in Olbia.
“Fortunately, my father is fine; he’s very resilient,” explains his son Fabrizio. “He’s under observation and will be in a brace for 20 days. In 48 hours, he’ll be leaving the hospital for Turin. Our entire family is relieved that no one else was involved in the accident. Dad, miraculously unharmed despite the flight, is annoyed that he won’t be able to ride his motorcycle in August.”
Here’s a video of the scene posted on Teleregione Live – Sardegna‘s YouTube channel:
Here’s another from Tiktok user daniele_teo:
@daniele_teo Incidente di Giorgetto Giugiaro a Porto Cervo #costasmeralda ♬ suono originale – Daniele
Giugiaro may be irritated about his injuries, but he also acknowledges that modern vehicle safety is what ultimately saved him. Referencing an interview with Turin newspaper, La Stampa, the local Sardinian outlet L’Unione Sarda, recounts what Giugiaro said:
“I’m alive. And I owe it to the technology I helped, in my own small way, to shape…If I had been in a car from fifteen years ago, almost the average age of cars on Italian roads, I probably wouldn’t be here telling this story. The statistics don’t lie: a new car, with its safety features, offers seven times more chances of surviving an accident than one from fifteen years ago.”
Giugario is also very much aware of his privilege with regard to affording a newer, safer vehicle. He states in that interview:
“Safety, today, is a luxury. Those who can afford a new car have a better chance of making it home alive. In 2024, in Italy, we counted 173,364 road accidents. How many of those drivers, in older cars, weren’t as lucky as I was?” the designer asks.
“Technology saves lives, but it’s a salvation that comes at a high price…Don’t get me wrong: I’m not here to preach. I’m just a man who, having stepped out of a flipped car, looked in the mirror and saw not just a survivor, but a privileged one,” he adds.
Turning 87 next week, the renowned Italian designer has nothing left to prove. Named the “Car Designer of the Century” by journalists and an Automotive Hall of Fame inductee, Giugiaro has left an indelible mark on design history as much with his automotive creations that range from the city mini Fiat Panda to the BMW M1 supercar, to other consumer products, including motorcycles, cameras, firearms, and watches.
But this crash may have sparked an encore. Or, at least, a redirection toward prioritizing safety in his admittedly ceaseless creativity. Knowing his hospital visit was a brief detour, Giugiaro said, per L’Unione Sarda,:
“Now I’m in Turin, in my creative lair, where ideas never stop, not even with a brace…And perhaps, who knows, from this misadventure a new line will be born, a new idea, a new way of thinking about safety. Because the future, like cars, is designed one line at a time.”
Of course he is 100% correct that modern vehicle tech likely saved him from more significant injury and I am glad he fared ok considering the severity of that crash.
I just find it a bit odd that his hospital bedside interview sounds like a PR package about why Italian people should purchase more cars. For instance, I find it interesting that he is citing 173,364 accidents in Italy in 2024.
I completely agree — it’s good that everything is more or less OK with him, because the collision, it seems, was serious. Modern safety systems could really save his life.
But I was also surprised how this interview sharply went towards statistics and sounded almost like an advertising block about the advantages of new cars. 173 thousand accidents — this is a figure straight from the brief. Perhaps something was agreed with the sponsors or the brand, or it’s just the style of presentation. But as for “just after the accident” — it sounds very formal.
“Modern safety” is exactly where that should be credited.
I see a ton of people posting accidents on Facebook and Reddit talking about, “That’s why I stick with X brand” or “X car saved my life!” The problem is that they’re posting perfectly pedestrian accidents that any modern car will handle with aplomb. A full-contact 30 MPH rear-end collision between one car and another might cause some injuries, but is unlikely to be life-threatening to occupants of either car. While some brands (notably Volvo and Mercedes-Benz) seem to holistically design cars that will keep you alive in extreme scenarios, those scenarios aren’t borne out most of the time.
Wow. Like pretty much everyone who frequents this site, I’ve considered him something of a hero for the cars he’s designed over the years. But for him to immediately think of not only his good fortune in driving a modern vehicle but to make a point of the fact that most of the public does not reveals him to be much more than a great designer. It seems that usually, your heroes (particularly those who’ve become extremely wealthy) turn out to be awful human beings. It’s pretty cool when the opposite occurs.
Yes. All of this. Especially your last sentence. I’ve enjoyed looking at a lot of his later work. And I have never read a foul word about him. I’m happy he survived. Who knows what he will do next. Maybe he will just relax. He’s more than earned it.
Modern side-curtain airbags and improved seatbelts plus the front cush structure undoubtedly were a huge benefit in this crash. The other is the survival of the passenger cabin structure, which appears in the photo to be uncannily straight and undamaged, especially for a rollover.
In an odd way, Giugiaro’s commentary on safety being a luxury was somewhat true of old Land Rovers and Range Rovers as well. The original Range Rover and descendent Discovery were built a with a reinforced semi-monocoque spaceframe with body panels separately attached, which was virtually a complete car structure by itself. Then the whole thing was bolted to a full frame. While not perfect, it offered better rollover protection than many other vehicles of their day. Volvo made similar efforts starting with their body-on frame cars and continued to lead the way with their unibody designs. It was some time before the lessons learned from these kinds of practical but still “luxury” market cars reached everyone via safety standards that finally caught up. And even so, most automakers only attempt to meet the government standards, not exceed them. He was indeed fortunate.
SAABs were similarly sturdy. I don’t know if it was a Swedish thing, but they and Volvos certainly have a reputation.
I don’t know if it was due to better regulations or incentives in Sweden, but they sure did put safety front and center to a degree hardly anyone else did at the time.
Fortunately, I have never had to test crash worthiness in any brand of car in my 50+ years of driving. The solid thunk when I close the door of my ’17 Accord gives me a better sense of security than the hollow tink of an ’84 Tercel 4×4 wagon I adored back before the SAAB 9000T, and Jetta TDI I owned after it. The latter two felt pretty sturdy, but again, I didn’t be unlucky enough to have to test their mettle/metal.
The Range Rover was not especially safe for either of the first two generations. The third-gen, which was unibody–but, again, not a space frame–was designed under BMW ownership and was a big, safe luxury car in the sense that you’re thinking.
I feel quite safe in my fourth-generation Range Rover (a 2020 Autobiography LWB), but an XC90 or GLS-Class is probably a bit safer in absolute terms. They’re also newer designs.
My theory: God wouldn’t let him die in a Land Rover Pretender.
What a guy!
Absolute Badass
Absolutely Beautiful and balanced take. What a man, so glad we get to have more time with him on this earth.
I’m very happy he’s going to be all right.
I love it when someone I admire says something I admire.
Either he was going much too fast, or he fell asleep or had some kind of medical spell. That’s insanity! Glad he’s ok
Yeah, with the distance he covered in the air, and probably rolling a few times, it looks like he was trying to be one of the Duke boys. But he’s right – we complain how much cars weigh, can’t see out of them, and cost an arm, but today’s cars are many times safer and survivable than ever.
I’ve not had to test any of this, but I’m sure my ’17 Accord is a lot safer than the ’84 Toyota Tercel wagon I owned 25 years ago. The doors on the Accord shut with the bank vault feeling of a Mercedes, back in their day.
I really don’t get what a lot of people are complaining about visibility around A pillars these days. I don’t find mine particularly sight impairing.
Anyway, be safe out there.
This looks like the spot.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/QwqK5n8vpvwMastZ8
Good find!
Damn, that one badass 87 year old. Just wants to ride his motorcycle after a near death experience.
Or, some never grow up. At least he didn’t drive the economy off the cliff with him.
“Giugiaro resides nearby”,”Without involving other vehicles or people”
It’s great he is going to be alright, but wonder what caused it. Maybe time for a chauffeur.
Perhaps he dropped his phone and forgot he wasn’t in a Tesla…
….not that it would have helped any.
A 2009 Vibe gave it’s life to save our daughter, T-bone collision with full side airbag deployment. She was shaken, not stirred. I wonder what would have happened in an older car, even the non-side airbag 2007 Corolla her mom drives and loves. Let alone the Malaise era product I owned at her age.
She replaced the Vibe with a very high milage ’08 Prius. Best luck so far (I’m a Toyota hybrid owner and fan).
In my day, we didn’t need seatbelts to restrain you if your car crashed. If you stopped suddenly, you knew exactly where you were going – straight through the windshield. That’s the way it was, and we liked it!
Dad’s arm was our seatbelt growing up…. Times are honestly better now.
Only if you were in the passenger’s seat. If you were driving the steering column would hold you in place like a memo spike.
I remember watching this action movie where everytime a car crashes, the sound of the horn lingers in the background, and the driver is slumped still on the steering wheel
I spent plenty of miles in the back of a station wagon without seatbelts and riding a bike without a helmet but to all the people who want to use that type of past to make the claim that “We didn’t have helmets or seatbelts and we survived!” they should remember that the folks who would dispute that fact were the ones who didn’t.
This is a very good reminder for all the folks who feel that prioritizing safety might be going too far.
THIS. As an 80s kid I’m sometimes amazed we lived. Once we left the house in the summer, mom honestly had no idea where we might be. A dinner yell at 4:30 was the norm.
There has to be a middle ground. Kids need the chance to be kids, and that includes unsupervised play time. At the same time we as parents need reasurance that they are safe.
AirTags sewn into a kids underwear should be enough.
“We lived on hose water and neglect”
-some GenX wise man, probably
What’s wrong with hose water?
Absolutely nothing! Just make sure you run the water for a minute if the hose has been sitting in the sun, or that water is gonna be way too hot.
Good advice, not just because it’s hot. Chemicals from the hose can supposedly leach into the water when it’s left out. Running it brings fresh water that hasn’t had time to be contaminated.
Where do you think the ‘hose water’ taste comes from? Mmmm, chemical leach.
I’m old, but still can’t resist drinking out of the hose.
So true. I had many summer days when I was 14 or 15, and a friend and I would get together at 9 am and not be home until 7 or 8 pm. We just needed to call home if we were going to miss dinner.
Meanwhile, we were on our bikes 30 miles away on the other side of the metro area without a map, trying to figure out the best route home.
I think us ‘older’ folk have a built in GPS that the younger generation is missing. I can’t remember ever getting truly ‘lost’. Guess our brain has a ‘bread crumbs’ mode, so we can backtrack our way home.
My sister is only two years younger, but has a very limited sense of direction. We have attributed the difference to the fact that when we were kids, she always had her nose in a book while we were driving around, and I didn’t. My theory would be that now that everyone has a distraction device on them at all times, people tend not to get the practice of understanding where they are based on the context.
True.
I like to tease my wife that she always has Waze turned on when driving. She’s lived here her whole life, does she not know how to find her way home yet? (haha). Says it for traffic backups.
Survivor bias is a hell of a thing.