Zeitgeist—literally, "the spirit of the time"—is a fitting name for a vehicle belonging to a time that never was.

In 2015, Paolo Torracchi, a photographer and short film director, began pre-production on a sci-fi short film exploring time paradoxes and dystopian themes. Set in a Nazi-themed uchronia, I was tasked with designing futuristic props and vehicles that reflected the film's central motif.

The concept for these designs merged a futuristic aesthetic with a retro flair. They encapsulated the seriousness and rigidity typical of 1940s German vehicle design, while imagining how transportation might have evolved in this alternative timeline. This vision also incorporated the curvy, dynamic styles characteristic of American cars and trains from the 1950s and 1960s. The resulting aesthetic fits squarely within the realm of Dieselpunk—a genre related to the Victorian-inspired Steampunk and the darker, high-tech Cyberpunk.

To further differentiate the protagonist's vehicle from the others, I developed multiple variants of the same model. The initial concept, called the Zeitgeist Kavalier, exuded elegance and sportiness. From there, I designed a battle-ready version, the Zeitgeist Kriegsherr, equipped with machine guns and an exposed engine for a raw, aggressive look.

Among the vehicles I conceptualized, the protagonist's personal speeder stood out as the most successful design. Compact yet stylish, it was wickedly practical for maneuvering while maintaining the sleekness of a sports model. Although the short film itself never came to fruition, I couldn’t resist bringing these sketches to life as 3D renders.

For the first set of images featuring the Kavalier concept, I conducted a full-body photogrammetry of a human model to integrate a pilot seamlessly into the scene. As a final artistic touch, the rendered collection was reimagined as oil paintings, giving the images a timeless, textured quality.