Maestro Works It's something to be grateful for, if nowadays we currently live in a world full of designers who have many smart ideas on how to make this or shape that. But few have the talent, charm and color of
Luigi Colani, a renowned contemporary industrial designer who has spent his life not only designing what he sees as future products, but speaking about these designs to anyone who will listen.
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| The Colani motorcycle design study of 1973 named 'Frog,' while in far-background seen the magnificent Colani-Egli MRD-1. (Picture from: TheVintagent) |
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Luigi Colani
(1928 - 2019).
(Picture from: Wikidata) |
And talking about the unique works of his may never end, although he had passed away in the 2019. Because this German designer has been active in the modern industrial world since the early of 1950s to the second millenium, with the segmentation of works varied, not only from the automotive world but also the world of aviation, buildings to household furnishings.
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| The
Colani's first real motorcycle realization dates from 1972 with a Münch
Mammut dressed in a dizzying polyester dress with round and fluid
shapes that prefigure all his later achievements. (Picture from: BubbleMania.fr) |
As a designer,
Luigi Colani
is famous for his design lines imitated various naturally dynamic forms which later became his typical style known as
Biodesign, as the end result seems quirky and unique.
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The Colani Münch Mammut described as an aerodynamic fairing racing motorcycle with the rider in a half-prone position and powered by a four-cylinder NSU 1100 drivetrain. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org)
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As in the 1990s he explained about his design philosophy in a seminar at
California's Pasadena Art Centre of Design, "
Straight lines do not exist in nature, and We must design products that respect nature."
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| Luigi Colani believes motorcycles should be an extension of the human body, integrating people and vehicles to reflect speed, as You could be seen on his art work tittled 'Frog' made of rational molded polyethylene with red lacquer is also said for a motorcycle study design. (Picture from: BubbleMania.fr) |
Now, after observing many automotive works of
Luigi Colani through pictures, articles, news, etc, it seems that there is something missing in the absence of motorcycle designs on the lists, so this raises a question;
Has the maestro ever made a motorcycle design? Well, actually the maestro ever had made a number of unique motorcycle designs carried his typical
Biodesign concept.
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| This is Yamaha Alula motorcycle prototype made by Luigi Colani for Yamaha the Japenese motorcycle manufacturer back in the 1980. (Picture from: BubbleMania.fr) |
As quoted of
The Vintagent,
Luigi Colani loves motorbikes and sees them as a form of mechanical intimacy attached to the human body, so it is not surprising when
Luigi Colani had the opportunity to work with German motorcycle manufacturer
Münch back in the 1971 to make a design study of a racing motorcycle which became known as the
Colani Münch Mammut that's can be considered the maestro's first motorcycle design work launched back in 1972.
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| This is Yamaha Alula motorcycle prototype made by Luigi Colani for Yamaha the Japenese motorcycle manufacturer back in the 1980. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org) |
The motorcycle described as an aerodynamic fairing racing motorcycle with a handlebar height that can be mounted in two positions and the rider in a half-prone position. As you could be seen this motorcycle concept dressed a dizzying polyester dress with a round and fluid shape that describes all of its later achievements and powered by a four-cylinder
NSU 1100 drivetrain. Unfortunately, there is not much technical and performance data regarding this
Colani Münch concept.
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| The scooter project pictures was reportedly being built at the Colani's design studio during the 1980s. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org) |
Furthermore, to implement his philosophy related to motorcycle designs, in 1973 the maestro created and presented a work of art entitled the
Frog in Berlin, Germany. It said that the mentioned artwork made of rational molded polyethylene with red varnish in dimensions of 94 x 245 x 50 cm also intended as an aerodynamical motorcycle design study. Naturally, most of the studies made by
Colani for major manufacturers have remained secret from the factories.
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| This magnificent Colani-Egli MRD-1 of 1986 looks impressive from every angle while sat on display in 1990. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org) |
But it doesn't mean nothing has escaped and can be seen by the public, for example there's a strange shaped prototype known as the
Alula which is said to have been made for
Yamaha's design study in 1980. Even had circulated pictures that was reportedly taken from a scooter project that was being built at the
Colani's design studio.
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| The Colani-Egli MRD-1 with a unique aerodynamic fully
faired bodywork as the collaboration result of Luigi Colani and Fritz Egli back in the 1986. (Picture from: TheVintagent) |
Furthermore, his motorcycle design philosophy also gave a glimmer of hope to be realized in 1986 when
Luigi Colani finally found a perfect partner figure with
Fritz Egli, a Swiss designer whose his limited production motorcycles had successfully brought the
Vincent motorcycle brand into modernity in the 1960s to 1970s, and improved both the handling and looks of Japanese fours.
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| The
Colani-Egli MRD-1 has a unique a patented spine frame built around a
turbocharged Kawasaki Z-1 racing engine with a capacity of 1,428 cc. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org) |
In short, then the two designers collaborated to realize a motorcycle design named the
Colani Egli MRD-1 that was able to break the speed records. The mentioned collaboration motorcycle was built on the basis of the
Egli MRD-1 which was the
Egli's ultimate motorcycle at the time with a patented spine frame built around a turbocharged
Kawasaki Z-1 racing engine with a capacity of 1,428 cc. Then the collaboration result motorcycle has a unique aerodynamic fully faired bodywork appearance after receiving
Colani's signature design touches to enhance its top speed potential, and profile
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| The rear view of the Colani-Egli MRD-1 clearly shows the view of a very muscular motorcycle emerging from its bodywork. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org) |
As mentioned above, the
MRD-1 was built to take speed records, and
Colani integrated the rider with the streamlining, in an unusual twist on 1920s and 1930s record breakers wearing teardrop helmets. The rider’s head was tucked under the bodywork, but his back carried the flush-fitting top of the bike’s canopy! The rider for the record attempt was 21-year old
Urs Wenger, an
Egli employee.
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| The Colani-Egli MRD-1 with a unique aerodynamic fully faired bodywork posed along with its rider for the record attempt was 21-year old Urs Wenger. (Picture from: TheVintagent) |
The
Colani-Egli MRD-1 produced 320 hp from its turbocharged, nitrous-breathing engine, and broke the
World Land Speed Record for 10 km from a standing start, at 170.26 mph (272.41 kph); his top speed was 330 kph (198 mph) and interestingly, the record was previously held by the
Honda ELF-R, ridden by
Ron Haslam at 265.4 kph.
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| The
Colani-Egli MRD-1 with a unique aerodynamic fully
faired bodywork coupled with the rider’s head was tucked under the
bodywork, but his back carried the flush-fitting top of the bike’s
canopy. (Picture from: TheVintagent) |
However, reportedly that the
Colani's bodywork proved unstable at high speeds, and in that attempt the body-hugging cockpit hatch had to be abandoned due to strange things happening over 150 mph in the wind! Luckily the motorcycle still be able to break the records (some say it's because of the monster engine it's cradling), and photographs of
Colani’s bodywork spread around the world, amazing everyone that such bodaciousness emerged from this pairing of eccentric German/Swiss designers.
(Continues to the 2nd part)
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As a designer, Luigi Colani is famous for his design lines imitated various naturally dynamic forms which later developed his creative language called Biodesign, made up of often exaggerated roundness, which evoke the dynamism and vitality of an object, as the result seems quirky and unique. If you look closely, Colani applies the Biodesign style on many his vehicle works to interpret what he called as natural forms which has none or minimal straight lines so they give a unique and quirky impression.
