Samir Sadikhov

Born in Gandja but now based in Germany, vehicle designer Samir Sadikhov is one of the most respected and admired concept car designers in the industry. Educated at the Instituto Europeo di Design in Turino, Italy, he won the second-place award at the 2011 Ferrari World Design Contest with his concept car called Xerzri, the design of which was inspired by wind. After the competition, he collaborated with Lamborghini and came up with innovative designs for Aston Martin, including their DBC concept car, and recently published his design for the Ferrari F40 tribute concept car. He has provided design consultation for USA-based Rezvani Motors, which is responsible for various bespoke off-road and racing luxury vehicles, two of which were featured in music videos by Chris Brown and Enrique Iglesias. Now working with Genesis Motors (the luxury vehicle wing of South Korean car-maker Hyundai), he was part of the team that won the Automobile Magazine’s 2018 concept car of the year – one of the most prestigious awards in the vehicle design industry. The winning car, the Genesis Essentia, is a mastery of aesthetics and green technology, and is considered to be one of the most inspiration examples of how the automotive industry can grow in the future.

While the vehicles are modeled with 3D software, Samir creates raw sketches to originate his designs, a crucial part of his creative process. His sketches reveal his design language, charting his own conceptual evolution through explorations of symmetry, fluidity and visual balance. The resulting designs are sleek and full of movement and dynamism. While much of his work on conceptual vehicle design will never be realized in the marketplace, Samir’s vision serves as inspiration for the automotive industry, helping to push it forward in terms of experimentation with materiality, technology and form.