The Man Behind the Chiron & Huracán Built His Own Car Company • Sasha Selipanov | MotoMan Podcast #012

In this episode of the MotoMan Podcast, Sasha Selipanov shares the story behind some of the most important modern performance cars — and why he ultimately left the biggest automotive brands to start his own company.From growing up in 1990s Russia and sketching cars as a kid, to shaping icons like the Lamborghini Huracán and Bugatti Chiron, Sasha reveals the tension between engineering and design inside major OEMs, the creative realities of studio life, and what he learned working with Ferdinand Piëch and Koenigsegg.The conversation then shifts to Sasha’s next chapter: founding Nilu and creating the Nilu 27 — a car built around analog driving, a manual transmission, and a philosophy that challenges the industry’s shift toward automation and AI.If you’re interested in how iconic cars are created — and what it takes to build a new automotive brand from scratch — this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:50 - Cars that became real00:05:06 - Sketching Lamborghinis00:06:46 - Formative Years00:09:46 - Collecting Bullets00:11:55 - Art center00:12:40 - Meeting Inna00:14:14 - Sketching Cars as kid00:17:11 - 90's living in Russia00:20:35 - From Volkswagen to Koenigsegg00:21:59 - The Huracan00:23:41 - The Chiron00:28:11 - Studio vs Big Car Company's00:29:37 - Ferdinand Piëch00:35:56 - Engineering vs Designing00:37:47 - Going into Genesis00:42:22 - Koenigsegg00:45:30 - Committee approach or dictatorship00:47:27 - His experience at Koenigsegg00:48:59 - Car production in Sweden00:50:52 - Koenigsegg Gemera and CC85000:54:02 - Sketches vs Reality00:55:38 - Sketching thinking on a production level00:57:18 - AI in the Automobile industry00:59:47 - Life after Koenigsegg01:02:15 - Starting a car company01:05:08 - Getting Investors01:07:45 - Throwing back to basis01:12:35 - Nilu Engine Manufacturers/Hartley Engines01:14:09 - Nilu 2701:21:52 - Nilu's Manual transmission/Cima01:24:27 - Challenges01:28:07 - The Nilu Reception01:31:09 - The choices he made01:33:36 - Final Thoughts#MotoManPodcast #SashaSelipanov #CarDesign #Hypercar #Nilu27 #Koenigsegg #Bugatti #Lamborghini #AutomotiveDesign #ManualTransmission #Supercar #CarDesigner #CarPodcast #MotoManTV #NILU27 #CarDesign #BugattiChiron #Koenigsegg #V12 #ManualTransmissionFor driving adventures & car reviews, before sure to visit us @https://www.youtube.com/@MMTVCarsDownload the MotoManTV Podcast @https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/motomantv-podcast/id1836304387https://open.spotify.com/show/0V4AKzLYrZc6rNCF23kwOthttps://music.amazon.com/podcasts/90ba9b31-fe69-4baf-817d-cb3816a33c21/motomantv-podcastConnect with our Short Form content here:https://www.instagram.com/motomantv/https://x.com/MotoManTVProudly shot on Sony’s Cinema line of Cameras