Interviews mit Francesco Riva

After working as a lawyer for several years, one day my life suddenly changed profoundly due to a dramatic and glamorous event. I then began to cultivate my passion for cars and automotive design again. I completed almost ten years of personal design studies before collaborating with Gillet Automobiles to create the new Gillet BellaRiva.

I decided to become a car designer to improve my life and the lives of others. I studied car design on my own.

Personally, I focus my design primarily on aspects of timeless beauty, innovation and versatility.

Personally, I enjoy all the creative phases of a new design. Of course, seeing the conceived design applied to a real, functioning product is also a great source of joy and satisfaction.

A great desire for personal redemption gave me the power to change and become a car designer.

The Gillet BellaRiva represents just my first step into the world of automobiles. My goal is to continue innovating well into the future to improve the way people move around.

My main advice is to always try to find innovative and environmentally friendly solutions.

Always try to create something expressive and with a strong character.

I try to approach each day with a positive attitude and share that positivity with those around me. I'm a calm person, and when something makes me nervous, I like to listen to music to find peace.

I follow trends just out of curiosity to see the latest news but then I develop my ideas in an autonomous way.

For me, good design must be fascinating, innovative and functional.

My design project is ready only after I have been able to verify its visual quality from every angle.

My biggest work is without a doubt the Gillet BellaRiva for now.

Ettore et Jean Bugatti, Sergio Scaglietti, Franco Scaglione, Giuseppe Figoni e Ovidio Falaschi, Giotto Bizzarrini

I was born and still live in Switzerland. Certainly, the typical Swiss precision also influences my design. However, I'm also a person who loves freedom and independence.

I'm a person who adapts to any situation, making me easy to work with. Above all, I expect honesty, transparency, and respect from others.Ma

I believe that those who can do so should contribute to improving the world by donating to humanitarian organizations that help both people and all other living beings.

Personally, I was very pleased to win a major award at the A' Design Awards. This success helped me understand the importance and value of my innovative automotive design. An international competition like the A' Design Awards also allows you to gain significant visibility for your project, which can be a huge help in promoting a new design product.

Being the designer of the day is a great pleasure and honor for me.

The fusion of two worlds, the automotive and the nautical world.

Identify the most fascinating stylistic traits of automotive history to create a modern and versatile supercar with a an innovative retro-futuristic look.

The limited series production of the new supercar in collaboration with the historic Gillet Automobiles brand.

It took a few months, approximately 6-7 months, to design the new concept car.

The design was not commissioned. My personal goal has been the pursuit of extreme charm in both the automotive and nautical sectors in order to create a completely new car in the automotive panorama.

For now, I'm focusing on my collaboration with Gillet Automobiles, but I'm open to future collaborations with other brands in the sports and luxury car sector. If I were offered a license on the design rights, I would carefully consider the proposal.

My great passion for cars and automotive design, as well as my desire to improve my life and the lives of others, are the reasons that drove me to create this innovative project in the automotive design sector.

Yes the designers Maxime Barthelemy, Patrick Bataille, Jose’ Figueres and Vincent Barberau helped me with the design of the car by following my instructions.

People who love comfort and timeless elegance, great car enthusiasts and collectors, owners of luxury boats, business people.

Its unique car style and its great versatility of use.

The name BellaRiva is linked to the Riva family's hotel in Lugano, which was demolished in 2021 to make way for a new real estate complex.

We started from manual drawings which were then digitized on the computer.

The car's unique details lie mainly in the rear deck and the front headlights.

I collaborated with engineer Mr. Tony Gillet and the team of designers he made available to me.

This is an "old school" car that limits the use of electronics to those functions that are truly necessary for maximum driving pleasure.

I conducted a personal design research over a period of almost ten years, mainly using classic search engines like Google.

The biggest challenge was to harmoniously integrate the nautical elements into the car's shape and style.

I wanted to have a certified professional evaluation of my work on the Gillet BellaRiva design and gain greater visibility for my project.

For example, I learned that a designer must be able to develop a car concept while always keeping in mind the technical limits imposed by the base (the chassis) on which he is working. For the BellaRiva project, the Gillet Automobiles chassis, with its long history in racing, was the

ideal choice.

My desire is to continue

my career as a car designer and further innovate my concept of the supercar.

I initially pursued a legal career and at a certain point, due to a dramatic and shocking event, I decided to resume cultivating my great passion since childhood: cars and automotive design.

Great passion and boldness are the main drivers of my rebirth as a car designer.

I wasn't forced to become a car designer, but I also wanted to find a new field of activity that could still give me personal satisfaction.

I would like to create more innovative and exciting cars in the future. Both front-engined and rear-engined.

You must never stop dreaming and keep working hard.

The ability to look beyond barriers to succeed in innovation.

A good design must have attractive lines and be timeless and functional.

Good design brings innovation and artistic value to the product.

I would design others innovative and fascinating cars

My dream is to conceive a car that will change the way people travel in the future

Curiosity, passion, and lateral thinking.

Ettore Bugatti, Sergio Scaglietti, Franco Scaglione, Larry Shinoda, Giuseppe Figoni e Ovidio Falaschi, Giotto Bizzarrini

McLaren F1 and GMA hypercars by Mr. Gordon Murray; Pagani Utopia by Mr. Horacio Pagani.

I find Gordon Murray's three-seater car configuration fascinating. Both Murray He creates also fantastic silhouettes for his cars.

They should try to think even more outside the box.

I have never considered any alternatives other than car design.

Design is an expression of freedom and the basis of every work of art.

My partner gave me the support I needed.

The strength to never give up, even in the most difficult moments of life.

I had to learn a lot of information and study hard to reach my goal.

They should convey more empathy in the works they want to conceive.

A new superlative car for road and track.

My ultimate goal is to improve the future of mobility.

I suppose they expect exclusivity, elegance and innovation.

Design can help if it is conceived to be functional for the final product users.

Actually I don’t work on others project. I concentrate myself on the Gillet BellaRiva project.

For the moment the Gillet BellaRiva is my only project and it gave me a great satisfaction.

I would like to see more refined cars that don’t use any more plastic components.

Multipirpose design is the future in my opinion.

It depend on the complexity of design.

I start with a research to evaluate if the new design can be developped.

Always go to the top

I think trends set the design but it shouldn’t be so.

Technology can be important for design developpement.

Professional design software was used by others members of our design team.

Colors, marerials and ambiente are for me very important in design.

I have no response for this question.

I am always excited when I see a new great design or product.

I’m open to every kind of collaboration, co-design included.

No one has a marquant influence on my design.

No particular book had an influence on my design.

I developed my skills in a self-taught way.

I would be particularly interested in meeting Mr. Gordon Murray and disscuss with him about a possible future collaboration.

It was never the fame I was looking for and my life will go on as before.

My favorite color is blue, my favorite place is my home, I like in particular seafood and summer season. My favorites brands are Ralph Lauren and Patek Philippe.

While I was designing the new Gillet BellaRiva, the famous James Bond came to my mind.

I look around and appreciate the beauty of nature. This helps me find that inner peace that allows me to express myself at my best.

No, it was not obvious. But maybe it was a destiny already written.

Today we have a great environmental challenge to face together, and I don't know what the world might be like in a thousand years if we don't reduce global pollution. My hope is obviously for a better world than the current one.

Being a man torn between law and car design my nickname could be “Swiss Batman” or “Batman of Supercars”.

My mother is a painter, and I've always had a passion for cars and car design. As a child, however, I couldn't have imagined a career as a car designer.

I work as a freelancer in a team of other freelance designers.

Design is expression of free dom and the base of every art work.

I love particularly to design cars.

I like in particular GMA car design with three-seater composition.

The supercar Gillet BellaRiva is the first car I have designed.

Carbon fiber and wood are my favorite materials for car bodie, chassis and car interior.

I feel the most creative when I find an environment that stimulates me.

I ficus in beauty/charm and multipurpose functionality.

I have a great excitement every time I design a new car.

I feel big joy and satisfaction when I realize a new design.

A design must be unique, fascinating and functiinal if it wants to be successful.

First of all consider the aesthetic appeal of the design.

Studying intelligent and environmentally friendly solutions.

Multipurpose design is the future of design in my opinion.

I haven't performed any exhibition yet but I have several planned in the coming months.

My inspiration comes from the world of luxury yachting combined with the allure of the most spectacular automotive designs

My approach to design is that of a demanding user who expects maximum comfort and elegance. The Gillet BellRiva's nautical and automotive styling allows for an unmatched level of versatility and load capacity in the supercar/hypercar sector.

I live in Collina d’Oro, Switzerland in a beautiful and relaxing place. My extreme precision and attention to details is probably due to my swiss origin.

I can work te good with companies.

Companies must select designers who can draw well but who also have an uncommon capacity for imagination and creativity.

First of all, I try to identify innovative forms that do not reproduce what already exists.

Cars, coffee machine and garden robot are some of my favorites items at home.

I get up in the morning, drink an espresso, and then start calmly thinking about everything I have to or want to do that day.

Never stop imagining and dreaming. You must always work with passion and utmost determination.

Having only recently become a car designer, I have nothing negative to report so far.

Always choose all the ingredients carefully, just like when you prepare a good dish in the kitchen.

Imagination and creativity are the most important skills for a designer.

I have collected a lot of car pictures that I use as a source of inspiration.

I have always managed to balance all my commitments well.

It depend on the design object. To design a car is more complicate than design a new jewels box.

Th most frequent question people ask me is “How did you realize that new supercar?”

For the moment my only experience in car design and automotive construction was with Gillet Automobiles.

As I’m a new car designer I still have to create a customer’s club.

I enjoy in particular to work on sportcars as they are the most interesting for me.

I would like to produce a limited series of the new Gillet BellaRiva and design new models in the future, both for Gillet Automobiles and for other manufacturers interested in my style.

I can conceive the car on my own but then I use a designer to be able to transfer my idea/vision onto a sheet of paper.

No, actually I don’t have any other work-in-progress.

They can contact me by regular mail, by sending me an email, or by contacting me by phone.