#224 – Nikita Bridan | Oilstainlab – Impactful Automotive Design & A Car for Maniacs

Building Better with Brandon Bartneck

Nikita Bridan, co-founder of Oilstainlab, discusses their approach to shaking up the automotive industry and creating unique luxury performance vehicles. They focus on excellent design, emphasizing driving pleasure, emotion, and simplicity. Oilstainlab is working on building a boutique sports car company and is currently developing a vehicle with a strong emphasis on storytelling and branding. They aim to create something different from what is currently available in the market, with a focus on fun driving experiences and a connection to the past. The team is also exploring different propulsion systems, including a high-performance air-cooled flat-six motor and an EV powertrain system.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 05:47 The Importance of Collaboration and Alignment in Design
• 10:49 Creating a Fun Driving Experience: Simplicity and Unpredictability
• 14:41 Challenges of Building a Small Team and Developing a Supply Chain
• 22:44 Creating Uncopyable, Revolutionary Products
• 41:29 Transition Riff.wav
• 41:35 Shaking Things Up in the Automotive and Mobility Ecosystem
• 42:03 The Contextual and Subjective Nature of Excellent Design
• 43:03 Creating a Fun and Engaging Driving Experience
• 43:32 Differentiating in the Homogenized Hypercar Space

Links:

• Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/nikitabridan
• Edison Manufacturing Exchange: https://brandonbartneck.substack.com/publish/home\

Bio:

Nikita Bridan is co-founder & chief executive officer of Oilstainlab. A car design strategist with 15 years of OEM and startup experience, Nikita has worked with world-renowned brands including Lyft, Cruise, GM, Toyota, Genesis, ONE, and more on electrification, platforms, and strategy. In 2019, Nikita co-founded Oilstainlab with his twin brother, Iliya, as an automotive design consultancy service and playground, and developed it into a boundary-pushing, custom vehicle manufacturer. Nikita lives his life as fast as the cars he builds, once being pulled over at 140mph in Arizona and getting off with a warning. Nikita earned bachelor’s degrees in Transportation Design from the Istitudo Europeo di Design in Italy and the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he now serves as an instructor to the next generation of designers.

Keywords

automotive industry, luxury performance vehicles, design, driving experience, manufacturing, branding, storytelling, prototype, propulsion systems, EV, air-cooled flat-six motor

Future of Mobility:

The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, effective, and accessible mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields.

Edison Manufacturing and Engineering:

Edison is your low volume contract manufacturing partner, focused on assembly of complex mobility and energy products that don’t neatly fit within traditional high-volume production methods.

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/