Welcome
Phil reminisces about a memorable conversation with the late Tom Tjaarda, who defied design conventions gracefully
The news that our columnist Tom Tjaarda had died stung. It still does. Like everyone who met him, I was as charmed by his warm, easy-going manner as by his talents as a designer. Straight from university Tom was at the epicentre of Italian car design’s most fertile period, working for some of his greatest car design heroes before becoming one himself. I loved to listen to his stories about the cars he worked on for Ghia, Pininfarina and the rest, and to hear his opinions on rival designers, assorted tyrannical company bosses and the cars that they created.
It was one such treasured discussion, at the Villa d’este concours in 2012, that inspired me to later ask Tom to join us as a columnist. He caught me admiring the Lancia Flaminia coupé concept that he designed while on holiday in 1963. ‘I’d driven my VW up to Lake Siljan in Northern Sweden, and during the days I was kinda bored, so I set about designing this.’ Tom got so carried away with the project that he returned to work two days late. ‘Pininfarina bawled me out for that, but he was the type of person who got the best out of people.’
As we strolled around the crisp, clean-cut Lancia, stopping at his signature canted tail lights and rear surfacing, he explained his methodology. ‘When designing a car I would start at the rear, then progress to the side and finally the front. I’d put lots of emphasis on the side flanks, like a boat – you want to see where the power comes from. Cars should look aggressive, but elegant.’
Always one to speak his mind, he then admitted that the front didn’t really go with the rear. ‘It’s too blunt, but Pininfarina wanted the classic Lancia front end.’
When I first asked Tom to write a monthly column for us in 2013 he thought it would be fun. It certainly has been for me and I know from many of you that his unique insights have had a special resonance. I also asked him for design opinions on cars that we featured over the past four years, including the Porsche 911.
I’m sure he would have loved to talk about the design merits and failings of the Porsches in our cover feature, but I must leave it to you to assess whether their flanks successfully convey where the power is coming from.