Lapo Elkann

12th January 2018

Lapo Elkann is an entrepreneur and tastemaker. The grandson of Gianni Agnelli, he started out as brand director of the Fiat Group, where he oversaw the relaunch of the 500, before founding the Italia Independent Group in 2007. His Garage Italia custom car business has just reopened in Milan’s iconic Eni building.

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My top three rules for life are

Honesty, integrity, faith – and courage, with a dash of fantasy.

Cars were my first love, of course.

They used to give me a set of car keys to stop me from crying in my crib.

The Art I like to see

I’m lucky enough to have in my room at home in Milan. It's a mix of my own collections and gifts from the people who count the most in my life.

I don't sleep very well - or very long

So I daydream a lot, then try to convert those dreams into reality.

I think courage is life’s most overrated virtue – unfortunately

That said, the people I most admire are the ones who risk their own life daily to save those millions of kids eeing wars and famine around the Mediterranean.

My advice to myself at 18?

Be more patient and don’t try to jump stages of life.

“Uomo Senza Squadra, Uomo Morto”

As we say in Italian. (A man without a team is a dead man.) I’m not a solo player and no achievements are reached alone.

I’m a big motivator

and I have more women than men in my teams and among my closest friends.

My Greatest Achievement

is giving real life to my dreams by founding my companies and creating jobs through them.

The best drive of my life?

Those would be the ones that still await me! The roads not taken, to quote Robert Frost.

Boredom is my greatest fear

I am a happy workaholic and not afraid of working around the clock.

If I could possess only one suit

it would be a Solaro suit – Solaro cloth changes colour, depending on the light.

There is no limit

to my hunger for new cars.

In another life

I would not want to be someone else – but to have two lives.

What motivates me

is always wanting to do better than the previous project. Improvement is a key factor.

My ambition?

To live another 40 years at least!

Image by Elizabeth Moch

This article is taken from the Goodwood magazine, Winter 2018 issue

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