Cool Hunting

Berlin-born Luigi Colani, with his trademark moustache, all-white ensembles, and stogie, was the 60s rockstar of design. Since graduating from the Sorbonne where he studied aerodynamics, for over 50 years he's given everything from high-heels to "meditation" chairs his utopianist, biomorphic makeover, but the streamlined, ultra-futuristic contours of his cars are what he's most well-known for. A new book (titled Colani: The Art of Shaping the Future) documents his prolific ouevre, including his DIY kit car, studies for a four-winged Mach 5 passenger aircraft, and a massive super-truck featuring a circular windshield fitted with a star-shaped windshield wiper. Other designs mimic Manta Rays, sharks, and insects, illustrating the heavy influence of natural forms on Colani's impossibly sleek-looking output. The extensive catalog full of photos and background info, pays Colani his due as a visionary among designers, "a philosopher of form," as Colani himself puts it.

Available for $75 from Amazon.