At the Mauto in Turin, the car becomes as comfortable as your living room at home

Before screens took over dashboards and instrument panels, before connected cars and interiors designed like lounges, there was already a different concept of the car: not merely a means of transport, but a space to be lived in. In 1986, Poltrona Frau put this concept to the test on the Lancia Thema 8.32, the Ferrari-powered saloon that would mark the beginning of its venture into the automotive world. Forty years on, that story returns to Turin, where the brand was founded in 1912.

From 11 September to 11 October, MAUTO – the National Automobile Museum – retraces this journey with ‘Abitare l’automobile. 40 Years of Poltrona Frau In Motion’, an exhibition celebrating four decades of projects dedicated to mobility, not just on four wheels: over time, the In Motion division has expanded its scope to include aeroplanes, yachts and trains, applying the expertise developed in interior design to a wide variety of spaces and vehicles. The exhibition will be inaugurated with a talk on the opening day, 11 September at 6.30 pm, dedicated specifically to the evolution of the car interior: from a functional space to a living space, comfortable and reflective of identity, featuring Giovanni Maiolo, General Manager of Poltrona Frau In Motion, Flavio Manzoni, Chief Design Officer at Ferrari, and Rossella Guasco, Vice President of CMF Design Europe at Stellantis.

Rather than a succession of finished products, the exhibition focuses above all on the craftsmanship and artistry behind the scenes – the aspects that are usually hidden from view. Sketches, material samples, prototypes and documents trace the journey from an initial idea to industrial production. A timeline simultaneously traces the evolution of In Motion, from its first collaboration with Lancia to its subsequent ventures in the world of mobility.

The starting point was the Lancia Thema 8.32, launched in 1986 and fitted with a V8 engine derived from that of the Ferrari 308. For Poltrona Frau, it was an opportunity to bring the craftsmanship and leather-working heritage – hitherto associated primarily with the company itself – into the car’s interior. That project gave rise to the Frau Car, which later became Poltrona Frau In Motion. Over the years, projects followed for Ferrari, Bugatti and Alfa Romeo, and, by the late 1990s, the company had entered the aviation sector with Japan Airlines’ First Class cabin, designed by Ross Lovegrove. At the other end of the spectrum, however, is an armchair. To mark its fortieth anniversary, the Vanity Fair XC — a contemporary version of the famous 904 model that went into production in 1930 — becomes the Vanity Fair XC In Motion,, produced in a limited run of just 40 examples, thus bringing the exhibition full circle: an armchair, created to be stationary, tells a story of movement, whilst the car has been striving for forty years to resemble a living room a little more each time.