Since the first suits of armour in the 8th Century AD, craftsmen have been shaping sheet metal. And by the time metal armour was in decline during the 17th Century, the artform had expanded into areas like silverware, furniture, artworks and – as the name we still use today – coachbuilding. With the rise of automobiles in the early 20th Century, coachbuilding transformed itself into a form of early automotive design studio whereby car manufacturers and wealthy individuals would source the latest streamlined looks that were then transformed into rolling works of art by the now famous European “carrozzeria” like Bertone, Pininfarina and Figoni et Falaschi.