The IED has chosen this exclusive venue to unveil their 'X 1/99' concept car, the work of Master RSP students following the famous Transportation Design course. The project was realised during the 2003-2004 academic year in collaboration with Fiat Auto and Webasto under the theme of "Work Experience".

For two years the IED, with this presence in Geneva, has held the record (together with Espera Sbarro) of being the only school in the world to take part in  such a renowned motor show, as well as the only one to produce a model in real scale, the greatest achievement of the Institute’s planning resources.

As the 'X 1/99' name suggests, the concept has been developed on the new Fiat Punto platform (Progetto 199), and has a 4.064 mm length, 1.790 mm width, 1.293 mm height, and a wheelbase of 2.570 mm. The students were led throughout the project by Lowie Vermeersch, designer at Pininfarina and Coordinator of the IED Master's Degree. Alongside Vermeersch was Michael Robinson, from Fiat Brand Promotion, and Gianni Firgatti, from Fiat Marketing.

The proposal is a coupé-cabriolet style car, with 2+2 seating, sporting pretensions, a highly versatile design, aimed at a dynamic audience and combined with both inner- and outer-town driving qualities. It is a professional vehicle, with obvious characteristics overlapping from both the B and H segments: practicality, an accessible price, unique appeal, and a diverse design being joyful to own. A car therefore that induces potential customers with the the desire to own it.

The name of the car intentionally recalls Fiat's X 1/9 sportscar from the '70s, with the classic model providing the point of departure in the students' design brief.  
  

 
The project develops an innovative concept of a transformable car, this being one of one of the most followed trends at the moment by major car manufacturers. 'X 1/99' proposes a multifunctional sun-roof, which has been developed in conjunction with Webasto, world-leader in opening roofs, and Cecomp - the prototyping house, responsible for, amongst other projects, the realisation of the highly acclaimed 2003 Lancia Fulvia Coupé concept .  

This IED-Fiat concept car is therefore accompanied by new conceptions and characteristics, which is further evidence to  the open approach of this Turin-based company. In fact it is paying more and more attention to innovation, style and, last but not least, ideas developed by young minds, with the aim of promoting what Fiat Auto always wants to be known as: “A car manufacturer with a fresh and lively style, expressed through Italian design and ingenious creations which make life easier.”

'FUNction' has been the key word in the development of all the students’ planning suggestions. “Since the beginning the project has been based on a single conception," the students of the Master’s say unanimously, "a basic idea that we like to sum up with this thinking: fun and function should be one.”

These are the main characteristics of the concept car, the culmination of a project started in March 2004 which has been developed through various stages: briefing to the students by Fiat (March 2004); a research stage lasting for about two months and aimed at defining the project target more accurately; the beginning of the planning stage; a presentation to the commissioner of seven proposals with reference to concept and package (end of June 2004); advanced presentation of seven models in clay with a scale of 1:5 (mid-October 2004); selection of two models out of seven, on which the students, divided into two teams, worked until the final project was chosen (beginning of November 2004).

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