Opening Editorial
Some people spend a lifetime choosing between engineering and art.
Marcel Yoshida never accepted that choice.
For more than three decades, his journey has taken him from a modest workshop in São Paulo to some of the most respected names in the automotive world. Jaguar, Audi, Lamborghini, Italdesign, NIO, and now Zagato. Yet reducing his career to the companies on his résumé would miss the point entirely.
The story of Marcel Yoshida isn't about climbing the corporate ladder.
It's about building a philosophy.
One shaped by mechanics and music, mathematics and emotion, discipline and improvisation. Along the way, he discovered that automobiles are far more than machines. They are expressions of culture, creativity and human resilience.
During our conversation, one image returned again and again.
A bridge.
One side represents logic.
The other, emotion.
Engineering on one end. Art on the other.
Marcel has spent his entire life walking between them.
“A car is not only an object.
A car is not only a means of transportation.
A car is a piece of human culture.” — Marcel Yoshida
Marcel Yoshida - photo by Luca Riva
Passion in Your Eyes
Marcel was only fourteen when he entered his first workshop in São Paulo.
Like many remarkable journeys, it didn't begin with ambition.
It began with necessity. Marcel’s father suffered a brain stroke, and his sister was born with a severe disability.
His family needed support, and work came before comfort. His first responsibility wasn't rebuilding engines or diagnosing mechanical problems. It was sweeping the floor, organising tools and learning that respect is earned long before responsibility is given.
His first boss insisted that he begin with the most basic tasks: cleaning the workspace, arranging the tools and understanding the importance of order. Only afterwards would he be allowed to touch the cars.
Looking back today, Marcel doesn't remember those days simply as hardship.
He remembers them as foundations.
Those early years taught him something that would quietly shape every chapter of his career: excellence begins with humility.
Not in boardrooms.
Not in design studios.
But beside a toolbox.
“It is so good to see that you have passion in your eyes.” — Marcel Yoshida
That passion carried him through long working days and nights spent studying. Even as a teenager, he approached every opportunity with an intensity that sometimes left little room for anything else.
He was determined to learn.
Determined to progress.
Determined to ensure that the circumstances into which he had been born would not define the possibilities ahead of him.
The workshop gave Marcel his first contact with the automobile.
But, perhaps more importantly, it introduced him to the people behind it.
Learning to Listen
Sometimes the most important promotion in a career isn't the one that carries the biggest title.
It's the one that changes how you see people.
Moving from the workshop to reception transformed Marcel in an unexpected way. For the first time, technical knowledge alone wasn't enough.
He had to listen.
Really listen.
Not only to understand mechanical problems, but to understand people.
A customer might describe a noise, a vibration or a feeling without possessing the technical vocabulary to explain it.
Marcel had to interpret not only the words being spoken, but the concerns behind them.
Years later, he would realise that this lesson extended far beyond customer service.
It became the foundation of leadership.
Listening isn't passive.
It is participation.
It requires humility, curiosity and the willingness to let someone else's voice matter as much as your own.
“There is a huge difference between simply hearing and listening.” — Marcel Yoshida
That distinction appears everywhere in Marcel's life.
In leadership.
In relationships.
In creativity.
Even in jazz.
A leader can hear an employee describing a challenge.
Or a leader can listen closely enough to understand what that person truly needs.
For Marcel, listening means remaining open. Not only to his own instincts, but also to clients, colleagues, employees and mentors. It means taking different voices and turning them into the best possible composition.
It is a lesson that began at the reception desk of a workshop in São Paulo.
It would follow him throughout the world.
Seeing Through Different Lenses
Most professionals spend their careers mastering one perspective.
Marcel deliberately sought many.
Jaguar taught him the power of brand identity and introduced him to a culture very different from the one he already knew.
Audi revealed the discipline, precision and complexity of a global automotive organisation.
Lamborghini presented another challenge: bringing the precision of German industrial production together with the artisanal, emotional world of an Italian supercar manufacturer.
It was not an easy balance.
But it was a fascinating one.
Italdesign introduced him to coachbuilding and to a company undergoing its own transformation. From the world created by Giorgetto Giugiaro and his family to full ownership by Audi.
NIO opened the door to a new automotive reality. Marcel divided his time between Munich and Shanghai, learning about electric powertrains while experiencing the speed and ambition of a young Chinese company attempting to build not only cars, but an entire community around them.
Each chapter expanded his understanding.
Each company became another lens through which to view the automobile.
A workshop.
A retailer.
An importer.
A global manufacturer.
A start-up.
A coachbuilder.
Combustion.
Electrification.
Latin America.
South America.
Europe.
Asia.
Over 100 countries visited and working on 7 of them.
Together, they gave Marcel what he describes as a 360-degree view.
Eventually, those lenses merged into something much larger.
The automobile was no longer simply a product.
It became culture.
“Instead of saying no to something, I prefer to say, ‘Let’s see.’” — Marcel Yoshida
It is a deceptively simple philosophy.
Marcel doesn't immediately say yes.
But he also resists the instinct to reject an unfamiliar idea.
First, he wants to understand.
To experiment.
To explore what might be possible.
That openness is the natural consequence of a career spent moving between different countries, technologies, companies and philosophies.
His journey was guided by ambition, but not by ambition alone.
Some decisions were his.
Others arrived through the trust of people who saw something in him and invited him to take the next step.
As Marcel describes it, he guided the journey.
But he was also guided by it.
Marcel Yoshida digging into hypercars aerodynamics with Jamiroquai friends Derrick McKenzie (left) and Paul Turner (right) photo by Luca Tuffanelli
The Bridge
This is where Marcel's philosophy reveals itself most clearly.
He doesn't see engineering and art as opposing forces.
He sees them as partners.
He describes standing on a bridge.
On one side lies logic.
On the other, emotion.
Engineering.
Music.
Mathematics.
Beauty.
Rather than choosing one side, he has spent his career walking between both.
The metaphor is deeply personal.
As an engineer, Marcel understands the language of calculation. Aerodynamics, powertrains, vehicle dynamics and structural performance are all shaped through mathematics.
As a musician, he recognises the same underlying language in a musical score.
Rhythm has structure.
Harmony follows relationships.
Improvisation still depends on an understanding of time, form and proportion.
For Marcel, cars and music meet in the middle.
“I feel as though I am standing on a bridge.
At one end, there is emotion.
At the other, there is logic.
Working with cars and music keeps me in the middle.” — Marcel Yoshida
The bridge isn't a place of indecision. It is a place of connection.
Sometimes Marcel moves closer to logic.
Sometimes he moves closer to emotion.
But neither side is ever abandoned.
Engineering without emotion may create something efficient, but forgettable.
Emotion without engineering may produce an extraordinary dream that can never become reality.
The greatest automobiles need both.
One gives direction.
The other gives meaning.
Marcel with a Tibetan meditation gong & a ride cymbal - photo by Lena Jankowsky
Before the Engine
Perhaps the most beautiful idea Marcel shared throughout our conversation wasn't about technology.
It was about imagination.
Every automobile begins long before engineers perform calculations or prototypes enter wind tunnels.
It begins with a dream.
When we look at cars such as the Lancia Stratos Zero, the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento or the Audi RS2, we see finished objects. We see forms, surfaces, aerodynamics, mechanical solutions and materials.
But before any of that existed, someone imagined them.
Before the engineers made them feasible, designers gave the idea its first breath.
The dream became a sketch. The sketch became a study of volume, proportion and function.
Only then did engineering begin the process of making the intangible real.
“Before engineering took it into its hands and made it a feasible, drivable car,
there was a dream.” — Marcel Yoshida
Engineering doesn't replace dreams. It protects them.
The engineer's role isn't to diminish imagination. It's to make imagination possible.
For Marcel, the sketch is not merely a preliminary drawing.
It is the first expression of a vehicle.
The first visible evidence that something which previously existed only in the imagination may one day move, breathe and live.
“Dream is intangible.
Dream leads designers to sketches.
The sketches are the first expression—the first breath—of a vehicle.” — Marcel Yoshida
There is perhaps no better expression of this philosophy than the car Marcel considers his ultimate automotive masterpiece.
Without hesitation, he names the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2.
Not because it is the fastest.
Not because it is the most expensive.
But because, in his eyes, it perfectly balances aesthetics and engineering.
Its tubular chassis reduced weight and allowed the body to sit lower, lowering the car's centre of gravity and strengthening its performance. Its proportions are elegant, yet entirely purposeful. Its form is shaped by speed, aerodynamics and function.
Nothing feels superfluous.
Beauty and engineering become inseparable.
“My favourite car is the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2.
It is super beautiful.
Design-wise, it is amazing.
It is extremely functional.
The sound of the engine is amazing.” — Marcel Yoshida
For Marcel, experiencing a great automobile involves every sense.
First comes sight.
The shape.
The proportions.
The way the body catches the eye.
Then touch.
The depth of the paint.
The texture of the material.
The sensation of tracing a form and trying to understand what inspired the designer to create it.
Then comes sound.
The moment the engine starts.
The mechanical voice of the car.
The rhythm of its combustion.
The relationship between engine, gearbox and movement.
Finally, there is smell.
Leather.
Fuel.
Burning tyres.
The unmistakable atmosphere of a workshop or racetrack.
The Giulia TZ2 brings all of those sensations together.
It is not simply Marcel's favourite car.
It is the physical embodiment of the harmony he has spent his life pursuing.
A dream made tangible.
Art made functional.
Engineering made emotional.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2 - photo by Simon Kidston
The Orchestra
When Marcel speaks about automobiles, he often sounds like a musician.
Perhaps that's because he is one.
He is careful not to describe himself as an accomplished jazz drummer. He prefers to say that he plays jazz with passion and tries to respect the discipline the music demands.
That humility says something about the way he approaches both music and work.
Jazz has shaped how he thinks about creativity, leadership and teamwork.
Improvisation requires freedom.
Freedom requires structure.
A musician cannot improvise meaningfully without understanding the composition underneath.
In a quartet, when one musician steps forward to perform a solo, the others continue to hold the foundation.
They listen, respond and adapt without abandoning the structure of the piece.
That balance between freedom and discipline is what makes jazz extraordinary.
For Marcel, leadership follows the same principle.
“Jazz is the perfect balance between the pursuit of discipline and improvisation.” — Marcel Yoshida
A leader must create enough structure for a team to remain aligned.
But also enough freedom for individuals to contribute their own ideas, talents and voices.
Leadership isn't about dominating the composition.
It's about listening closely enough to understand when someone else should take the solo.
“When you play jazz, one of the main capabilities you need to develop is listening.” — Marcel Yoshida
Marcel sees the automobile in much the same way.
The chassis.
Its rigidity.
Its weight.
The aerodynamics.
The body.
The engine.
The gearbox.
The clutch.
The torque.
The sound.
Each element performs like an instrument.
Individually important.
Collectively unforgettable.
“The car is like a symphonic orchestra.
Each part is like a musician with a different instrument,
all playing together.” — Marcel Yoshida
If one element is out of tune, the entire experience suffers.
But when every component has been designed to perform its role, and when every part contributes to the same purpose. The machine becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
The same is true of a team.
People perform at their best when they are listened to, understood and allowed to contribute to the composition.
For Marcel, engineering, jazz and leadership aren't separate disciplines.
They are different expressions of the same principle.
Listen.
Respond.
Create together.
Playing drums with passion - photo by Jens Schäler
The People Along the Way
No journey is shaped by one person alone.
When Marcel looks back, he speaks with gratitude about the mentors, leaders, designers, drivers and workshop colleagues who influenced him.
Some taught through encouragement. Others through extraordinary demands.
He recalls figures from the Volkswagen Group and Audi who supported him throughout important transitions in his career. Professor Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, Chris Reinke, Carsten Bender.
He speaks of the influence of leadership at Italdesign of Giorgetto Giugiaro, Jörg Astalosch.
Of Andrea Zagato, who challenges him to think beyond conventions.
Of the engineering brilliance of Gordon Murray.
Of designers as
Filippo Perini.
Norihiko Harada.
Of racing drivers including Ayrton Senna, Nico Rosberg, Dindo Capello and Emanuele Pirro.
Of Ken Block.
But Marcel is equally careful to remember the people whose names may never appear in books.
The mechanics.
The craftsmen.
The teams working inside workshops.
His first boss, who made him clean the workbench before allowing him to touch a vehicle.
The colleagues who contributed quietly to every achievement.
“The people who demand the most from you are not always easy to work with.
But they can also be extraordinarily inspiring.” — Marcel Yoshida
For Marcel, true mentors know how to extract the best from a person.
They demand more because they see more.
They challenge someone not simply to deliver, but to develop.
Yet inspiration does not flow in only one direction.
Marcel believes that every human interaction carries the possibility of mutual growth.
A president can inspire an employee.
A mechanic can inspire an executive.
A colleague can inspire a leader.
Even a conversation between two people can create an exchange that leaves both of them richer than before.
“My team inspires me every day.” — Marcel Yoshida
It is another reflection of the humility first learned beside that toolbox in São Paulo.
No matter how far the journey travels, Marcel never forgets where the work truly happens.
At Atelier Zagato: not only a “job” - a real passion - photo by Matteo Zanardi
Coming Home
After decades spent across continents, technologies and cultures, Marcel eventually arrived at Zagato.
Not because it represented another prestigious chapter.
But because it represented everything he had been searching for.
Zagato was founded in 1919 and remains guided by the third generation of the family. Across more than a century, the company has maintained a remarkably consistent belief in building cars through passion.
Beauty and functionality are never separated.
Engineering exists in service of emotion.
Design is not decoration.
Tradition is respected, but creativity is never restrained by nostalgia.
For Marcel, Zagato feels like a natural convergence of every previous chapter.
The workshop.
The global manufacturer.
The coachbuilder.
The engineer.
The musician.
The executive.
The dreamer.
All of them arrive at the same place.
“I never worked in a company where cars, design, engineering and art were so close to each other.”
— Marcel Yoshida
Zagato's scale also demands a particular way of working.
The company must be fast.
Flexible.
Creative.
Precise.
No two days are the same.
For someone who instinctively moves away whenever comfort begins to replace challenge, that environment feels entirely natural.
“Every day at Zagato is a new day.
There is not a single day that is similar.” — Marcel Yoshida
For Marcel, Zagato isn't simply where he works.
It is where beauty and functionality, engineering and art, logic and emotion are allowed to coexist without compromise.
It is where the lessons of a lifetime finally meet.
Less like another career move.
More like coming home.
What Makes a Great Car
For someone who has spent his life around automobiles, the question sounds simple.
What makes a car great?
For Marcel, it was one of the most difficult questions to answer.
The automotive world is too broad for a single universal definition.
Roadsters.
Sports cars.
SUVs.
Trucks.
Buses.
Combustion engines.
Electric powertrains.
Each has a different role and must be judged according to a different purpose.
So Marcel answers personally.
A great car must first awaken the senses.
It must capture the eyes through beauty, proportion and form.
It must invite touch through its materials, surfaces and construction.
It must reward listening through the character of its engine and the harmony of its mechanical components.
It must carry a smell, a texture and an atmosphere that connect the machine to memory.
“What makes my blood run quicker, my heart beat faster and my memories return with emotion is first what I see. The beauty, the forms and the proportions.” — Marcel Yoshida
Marcel has worked extensively with electric vehicles and recognises their relevance, particularly for urban mobility.
But emotion still leads him towards the classical engine.
Towards the sound of a naturally aspirated powertrain.
Towards the kick of a turbo from inside the car.
Towards the smell of fuel and leather.
Towards the sensations he first encountered as a young mechanic and later rediscovered in workshops, factories and racetracks around the world.
A great car doesn't simply transport the body.
It moves something inside us.
Marcel Yoshida as a child - photos I. Tsutomu Yoshida and Marta Yoshida (RIP)
A Letter to a Fourteen-Year-Old Boy
The final question was also the most revealing.
If Marcel could spend five minutes with the fourteen-year-old boy who had just started working in that São Paulo workshop, what would he say?
His answer wasn't about success.
It wasn't about Jaguar.
Or Audi.
Or Lamborghini.
Or Zagato.
It began with three unexpected words.
“I love you.” — Marcel Yoshida
He would tell the boy how beautiful it is to see passion already present in his eyes.
He would wish him a life filled with creativity, experiences and purpose.
But he would also offer advice shaped by everything that followed.
Don't be so serious.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
Study.
Work.
Remain disciplined.
But understand that life cannot be postponed until the work is finished.
As a teenager, Marcel sometimes refused invitations and opportunities to enjoy himself because a technical drawing needed to be completed or another academic result had to be achieved.
He would tell that younger version of himself to find greater balance.
To work hard without forgetting to live.
“It is important that you study hard and work hard.
But life is not only this.
You can enjoy life while working hard as well.” — Marcel Yoshida
Most of all, Marcel would tell him not to be afraid.
The fourteen-year-old boy working near the outskirts of São Paulo carried a deep fear of failure.
He worried that opportunity might never arrive.
That he might remain trapped by his circumstances.
That the world he dreamed about would always remain beyond his reach.
The man he became would reassure him.
“Don’t be afraid.” — Marcel Yoshida
Work with determination.
Set clear targets.
Have confidence.
Treat people with respect, regardless of how they choose to treat you.
Remain faithful to your values.
Be less severe with yourself.
Be more forgiving.
Be kinder.
“I would tell him to be a little nicer to himself.” — Marcel Yoshida
And then, perhaps, the most comforting thought of all.
“What belongs to you will come to you naturally, as a natural consequence.” — Marcel Yoshida
Closing Editorial
As our conversation drew to a close, it became increasingly clear that Marcel Yoshida's story was never really about the cars.
The cars were simply the medium.
His true pursuit has always been understanding how seemingly opposite worlds can exist together.
Logic and emotion.
Engineering and art.
Discipline and improvisation.
Dreams and reality.
Perhaps that's also why, when asked to name the automobile that best represents his philosophy, he doesn't choose the fastest or the most powerful.
He chooses the Alfa Romeo TZ2.
Not simply because it is beautiful.
But because it reminds him that the greatest automobiles are born when imagination and engineering become one.
Perhaps that's why he describes himself standing on a bridge. Not choosing one side over the other.
But reminding us that the greatest automobiles, and perhaps the most meaningful lives, are created somewhere in the middle.
