He initiated the "folded paper" era of the 1970s where the cars were designed with straight lines and sharp edges. As well as a number of supercars, he is responsible for the design of some of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today.
Giugiaro was the winner of the award of Car Designer of the Century in 1999. Three years later he was awarded a place of honor at the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan.
In addition to designing cars at least one Bontempi keyboard, the Minstrel, had a Giugiaro-designed case. He has designed camera bodies for Nikon, an unused proposal for a next generation Macintosh for Apple, as well as a new pasta shape "Marille".
Giugiaro also created the first multi-purpose vehicle in 1978, the Lancia Megagamma, which inspired the Nissan Prairie, the first MPV to achieve mass sales.