Cars and pens - Budapest Pen Show

To drive and write in the same style?

Despite the development of technology, handwriting is still not considered an outdated thing. If we do this with a special tool (because we have a need for it), it distinguishes us from others and radiates delicacy and elegance. Pens – especially fountain pens – are no longer outdated, anachronistic writing instruments, but have become stylish accessories, and in many cases, status symbols.

Car brands and writing instruments

Numerous manufacturers offer writing instruments in various designs, materials, limitations, and price ranges. A good portion of the selection is generally accessible and purchasable, while a smaller portion consists of limited, themed editions. The themes can be diverse, including famous personalities, events, literary works, airplanes, political events, and of course, cars also appear among the editions.

For me, the relationship between cars and pens is perhaps the most interesting area – not only in terms of technical solutions but also how a car manufacturer capable of creating outstanding marketing builds an even stronger brand with various, sometimes quite sophisticated tools.

Each car brand belonging to the luxury segment also engages in commercial activities, typically recommending accessories that reflect the image of the respective manufacturer or brand. Accessories include, without limitation, bicycles, golf sets, various clothing items (caps, t-shirts, jackets, sweaters, driving gloves, etc.), travel bag sets tailored to the specific model's trunk, LEGO sets, sunglasses, perfumes, watches, and yes, pens – whether fountain pens, ballpoint pens, or rollerballs.

Design and quality – in cooperation

The quality of these writing instruments leaves nothing to be desired; in many cases, they are considered distinctly special products in some respect. In this segment, it would indeed look strange to have a non-flawlessly branded tool, which would severely tarnish the image of the respective brand.

Consequently, it can generally be said – and perhaps even more so in the case of pens – that car manufacturers are very selective about whom they work with on such projects.

Focusing on writing instruments, a trend has been visible over the past 10-15 years regarding which car manufacturer has chosen which writing instrument manufacturer. This is not necessarily true in every case, but largely the same companies have been collaborating for years.

In the automotive segment, in most cases, pens are made for some occasion, such as an anniversary, related to something important in the brand's history – the founding of the factory, the appearance of a specific model, events related to the founder(s), motorsport achievements, etc. The appearance and material usage are usually determined together by the designers of the car manufacturer and the writing instrument manufacturer.

The design reflects those fundamental design elements that make an object instantly identifiable with its creator, whether it is a fountain pen or a (sports) car, meaning the design language of the writing instrument must match that of the car manufacturer.

The design and material selection is a huge question and strongly depends on whether the goal is to design and manufacture a limited or non-limited series.

Limited editions will be discussed later, their prices can be even tens of thousands of euros – the sky's the limit. Of course, the use of materials and the processing technology is also reflected in the price, here the pen body is already made of special materials and processing, gold for the nib, the clip, engraving, and the special design elements are all in their place.

The price of limitation

The price of writing instruments in the non-limited category ranges from a few tens of euros to a few hundred euros. Of course, these are not inferior in quality to the limited series. A significant difference is usually that a steel nib is used, as well as cheaper materials for the pen body, and the processing and design elements are not at the same level as in the case of limited series.

In the case of the most expensive, limited edition pens, the question of design receives special emphasis. During the design of writing instruments in this category, the design teams of the car manufacturer and the writing instrument manufacturer perhaps work even more closely together than usual, and the choice of materials is not questioned in the first round. For example, in the design of the Montblanc Ferrari Stilema SP3, the defining feature of the pen is the red blade. It took months of research to figure out what it should be made of to look like it was glowing, evoking the rear light of the Ferrari Daytona SP3.

Since the design team decided it should look like it was glowing, it was the engineers„ task to find the right material for it. That is, it was not about having this or that material in stock, or knowing this or that, and these are the options, then figuring out what can be made from the available ”inventory.".

The result of this kind of thinking is that – without claiming completeness – Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce – and we could list a few more car manufacturers – are what they are today. They are considered not only a well-known brand but also a recognized brand from both marketing and technical perspectives.

A special lifestyle

Writing instrument manufacturers must bring the same level of quality in this cooperation. The pen they design and manufacture must „bring” the feeling of luxury, excellence, strength, and uniqueness. Easy, simple task? Not at all.

When the designers' considerable work largely comes to an end, the technicians come into play, that is, the physical active part. I will mention a few things as examples of what they do: machining and shaping tests after material selection, tool and device design for machining if necessary, fitting to the machining machine (e.g., programming), planning and testing surface finishing (polishing, matting), assembly, execution of inspection activities defined in quality assurance, etc.

I think it may be visible from the above how complex activities and background are required for a (fountain) pen to transition from the conceptual plane to a state achievable in physical reality, how many people's work is involved, and what design-engineering-manufacturing infrastructure is necessary for this.

It is worth reading the further parts with consideration of what is described in this article 🙂

Fasten your seatbelts!