The automotive industry’s advanced technology and mass production techniques are far more sophisticated than anything found in the world of furniture manufacture. Over the past few years however, a number of collaborative projects have seen designers borrowing technologies and aesthetics from the car industry and using them to make slick and engineered seating.

With a tailored design that resembles the seat of a racing car, the Plate chair by Luca Nichetto for Kristalia combines refined technical design with traditionally crafted finishes. The sculpted curves are enhanced by contrast stitching.

The frame of Stefan Diez‘s Chassis chair for design brand Wilkhahn is formed from deep-drawn sheet metal using the same techniques used to make car bodies. The woven polypropylene upholstery is fused to the metal frame through a concealed connection.

The cantilevered molded polypropylene shell of Odo Fiovanti‘s Dragonfly chair for Segis features a ribbed texture that references a classic car seat.

Made by robots from carbon fibre and aluminum, the R18 Ultra chair by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram is inspired by Audi’s lightweight prototype race car. Working with experts at Audi’s Lightweight Design Centre, Weisshaar and Kram hooked the chair up to advanced stress-analysis sensors and got volunteers to sit in it – a technique borrowed from the testing and development of a race car. The results revealed where they could trim off unnecessary weight from the carbon-fibre shell.

The Vik lounge chair by Dutch designer Arian Brekveld for Netherlands-based company Spectrum Meubelen was inspired by the shape of a car seat. Brekveld explains: "Car seats are always comfortable. They are beautifully made, the materials are used in a clever way and, although they are small, they provide a lot of comfort! I wanted to translate those qualities in my design."