Here’s merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2025 from BaT—No Auctions Closing on Christmas Day

Our colleagues at Car and Driver and many other outlets are reporting that Ercole Spada, the brilliant designer behind the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato and many other models on the list of all-time greats, passed away on August 3 at age 88. Though he may not have enjoyed the international name recognition of a Gandini or Giugiaro, Spada certainly deserves his spot in the pantheon of great automobile designers.

We wanted to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishments of Tsutomu “Tom” Matano, often called the “Father of the Miata,” who passed away on September 22 at the age of 77. Matano was a champion of “empathetic design”—the idea that objects should communicate how they want to be used with their design—and he shaped Mazda’s design philosophy during what could be considered the most important period in the company’s history. Above all, he was remembered for his cheerful disposition and boundless enthusiasm for car culture and its people.