green car design /review 05 london

Welcome to our fifth edition of Green Car Design/Review. You may notice some visual changes; I hope you like them. We have made every effort to reflect what and whom we represent as a magazine and ethos while creating a sim-

ple and beautiful layout for your reading pleasure. We have also learned a lot about ourselves. The look and feel of this edition hints at changes to follow on our website and related services...stay tuned!

I am truly amazed at the variety of stories we can bring you as well as our personal, informed perspective and delicious images. Gracing our pages this time is none other than wild child Laurens van den Acker who, after a successful step change from the helm at Mazda to a Renault brand in transition ‒ must surely be considered a guru of the automotive design scene today. Richard brings us green tech from the quiet revolution that is HALOsonic, Guy Bird reports from Shanghai and Eric Gallina visits Toyota on the Champs Élysées, investigating the deconstructed ME.WE concept in the process. McLaren has uncharacteristically opened its doors to reveal the design and engineering story of the immaculate P1, whilst the Royal College of Art’s graduating class show they are ready for industry with a unique installation commissioned by Jaguar at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week.

In short, we are here to spoil you with the latest and greenest stories in the automotive world...we hope we have succeeded!

Hannah MacMurrayFounder

[email protected]

weBsItewww.greencardesign.com

FaceBook/greencardesign

twItter@greencardesign

GCD 3

CARS

9 WE’RE BACK Detroit Electric revived with the SP:01

10 VOLVO V60 PLUG-IN HYBRID Practical, pragmatic, subtle. Remarkable

15 (HYPER)HYBRIDS Speed demons blurring the lines

16 HALOSONIC The trouble of needing noise where there isn’t any

18 RENAULT ZOE Electric cars are dead? Someone forgot to tell the French

22 FIAT 500C COLOUR THERAPHY Snapshot: Fiat’s blast from the past

23 TOYOTA ME.WE Toyota’s anti-crisis car aims to save the world

24 NISSAN LEAF A second bite at the electric cherry

28 A CLEANER, GREENER HELL One zero-emissions lap of the Nordschliefe

DESIGN

30 MCLAREN PROJECT 12 Design and materials for the world’s fastest car

35 LIGHT ALCHEMY BY JAGUAR Material science meets optic experimentation

INTERVIEW

40 INTERVIEW WITH LAURENS VAN DEN ACKER Can a globe-trotting Dutchman save Renault?

SHOWS

46 SHANGHAI AUTO SHOW Glitz and eco-tech at odds with reality

49 SALONE DEL MOBILE 2013 Car makers cosy up with the design crowd

LAST WORD

55 LAST WORD Cars for the 21st century: the broader design imperative

GCD 5

founder Hannah Macmurray

editor Richard Lane

writers Marcus Classen, Guy Bird, Eric Gallina, Adam Jefferson

photography Olgun Kordal, Mark Raybone

design Helen Stella

communications Fatima Bettache

6 GCD

This is not the first time we’ve seen a Lotus Elise stuffed full of lithium-ion batteries. Neither is it the first time there’s been a Lotus Elise stuffed

full of lithium-ion batteries with a body fashioned en-tirely from carbon fibre.

Oh no, and if those similarities to Tesla’s pioneer- ing Roadster aren’t spooky enough, the Detroit Elec-tric SP:01 also churns out the same fright- ening acceleration figures as Elon Musk’s pock- et-rocket and, at $135,000, will cost about the same when it goes on sale in August.

It’s all been done before, in other words, so is the SP:01 worth getting excited about then?

Well, yes, because when isn’t a supercar-humbling EV something to shout about? But there’s also the story of Detroit Electric itself, which more than anything shows that the electric car market has actually regressed in the century-or-so since a man called William An-derson began shipping aluminium-bodied electric cars ‒ ‘Detroit Electrics’ ‒ out of Detroit in 1907.

Before petrol-engined cars became reliable and cheap enough for mass adoption electric cars were big busi-ness. DE was a leader in the field, too, shifting a record 1,893 cars in 1916 and a total of nearly 13,000 before the last one silently rolled off the production line in 1939.

What’s truly fascinating though is that Detroit in the early 1900’s was far better equipped to deal with EVs than it is now; we’re talking home charging equipment here. People back then didn’t complain about a 65km range, either. They were just happy not to be walking.With the help of a certain Thomas Edison, DE vehi-cles eventually managed around 80 miles range (one even achieved 211 miles), but the nickel-iron batter-ies required for this added around $600 to the base price. Some things never change, then, and in 1914 a Ford Model T cost $500 whereas a standard DE was nearly $2000. Today you’ll pay around £28,000 for a standard Lotus Elise whilst the SP:01 is closer to £90,000, so the parameters haven’t changed at all. C’est la vie. For now, at least.

Detroit Electric revived with the SP:01

wORDS RiCHARD LANE

We’re back

DE plans to build 999 examples of the SP:01, each with three-year, 30,000-mile warranty. Visit www.detroit-electric.com if you fancy owing the fastest production EV on the market.

GCD 9

Detroit electric SP:01 CARS

This practical, pragmatic and seemingly unremarkable Volvo is electric. Honestly

wORDS ADAM JEFFERSON / PHOTOS MARK RAyBONE

volvo v60Plug-in Hybrid

The standard Volvo V60 D5 is a very good car. It’s comfortable, safe, smart, well appointed and reasonably economical, yet could never be described as remarkable. Now, in a bout environmental responsibility, Volvo has launched

the V60 D6, the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid.

The UK launch in March, however, was hampered by problems. Not, as you might think, by exploding batteries or overheating electrics but simply a complete lack of cars. The entire allocation of UK models having already sold, it took some effort to assemble a press fleet. So why the demand?

Think ‘plug-in-hybrid’ and you probably think of an infuriating ad about Toyota’s Prius. It’s a concept that, I confess, I hadn’t exactly grasped, and seemed to me like yet anoth-er exercise with the main aim of massaging manufacturers’ carbon figures. After all, what’s the point of a car that can do a mere three miles on electricity alone? And hav-ing driven cars such as the slightly offensive Chevrolet Volt, I am not a fan of hybrids. So, another Volvo, but with a plug. Big deal.

We arrived at Edinburgh airport late for our appointment. Very late. Despite freezing, wet and sludgy conditions, we’re met by the beaming Volvo team who assure us that it’s not a problem. There are two V60s waiting and we’re given a choice. They’re identical so we choose the closest. The car boasts several distinguishing features: a glossy black grille and front spoiler, aerodynamic wheels with composite inserts, badging on the front wings and littering the tailgate, twin integrated tailpipes and a particularly ugly fuel flap on the front nearside wing hiding the charging point.

The interior is lightly redesigned with new inlays, detailing and lighting, whilst the info-tainment system features a 7” screen with simple, logical controls beneath. The instru-ment panel is Volvo’s smart new active TFT.

The V60 Plug-in Hybrid has three driving modes - Pure, Hybrid and Power. ‘Hybrid’ is the default mode on starting and balances power from the battery and engine as required. ‘Pure’, as the name suggests, draws entirely power entirely from the batteries unless the engine is required for a burst of acceleration or a steep hill, and’ Power’ unleashes both at the same time. In addition to these, the ‘Save for Later’ button allows the reserve of power in the battery to be maintained, for example when heading towards a city centre.

We select ‘Pure’ and cruise silently out of the car park. We’ve become accustomed to electric propulsion in smaller cars, however it’s still something of a mindbender in a large real-life car like the Volvo. It’s been no simple Pimp My Ride transformation either. Minute details had to be considered, such as the noise of fuel sloshing in the tank when the car comes silently to a stop, the traction control had to be completely re-written to cope with the motor’s input and an enormous amount of work was under-taken to ensure the transition from electric to diesel is seamless: no mean feat with a large diesel engine, yet it’s been implemented perfectly.

10 GCD

CARS volvo v60 Plug-in hybriD

GCD 11

The TFT instrumentation is brilliant. A power gauge on the right shows how much power is being drawn (effectively how far down on the throttle your foot is) and the point at which the engine will cut in. It’s surprisingly hard to invoke it in ‘Pure’ mode and the motor can realistically take the car through to 78mph on elec-tric only. The dashboard has three display modes - Eco, Elegance and Performance. ‘Eco’ is well suited to ‘Pure’ and ‘Hybrid’ modes, and ‘Performance’ is more relevant to ‘Power’ mode: the blue dash accenting changes to red and the central speedo changes to a rev counter with a digital speedo inside. The execution of the instru-mentation is excellent: attractive graphics, smooth animations and logical design, which reduces the complexities of the car to simple, straightforward information.

The car features an astonishing amount of technology, which we can’t even begin to fully cover in this article. Just a couple of examples are ‘Volvo On Call’ which can con-tact emergency services, inform the driver by text of the car’s charging status or if it’s moving without authorisation, or allow the driver to interact with the car through a mobile app. There’s also ‘Preconditioning’, which allows the car to be heated or cooled before driving, either by timer or in real time through the app. True to form, the wired V60 also has the highest ever Euro NCAP score for an electrified car, with particular attention paid to protection of the battery pack during rear impacts.

The first leg of our trip leaves us very impressed. The engine has cut in only twice, the first time when deliberately called for on a busy A-road and the second time impercep-tibly, again when pushing on. We’ve averaged ‘over 200mpg’. Take that how you will.

The second stage of the journey is to Glasgow. We set off in ‘Hybrid’ mode and the engine immediately makes itself known. I still occasionally wake up sweating in the middle of the night with memories of the ungodly noise of the Volt engine cutting in like a fume spewing generator, completely uncalled for and without any logic whatso-ever. The Volvo engine is incredibly refined and, even when you can hear it, sounds great. Ignition is undertaken by an ‘Integrated Starter Generator’ that replaces both the starter and the alternator, and also charges the 400V battery to a limited extent.

Eventually we decide to give ‘Power’ mode a try; more for reasons of thoroughness than any sort of desire. Whilst driving I press the button, and to say the reaction is shocking would be an understatement. The throttle mapping changes completely, the gearbox kicks down a gear and the car leaps forward. There is no way to describe it other than to say we are driving a completely different car. There’s suddenly an enormous reserve of power, the

volvo v60 plug-In hyBrId powertrain: 2.4-litre 5-cyl diesel/electric motor power: 212bhp + 69bhp transmission: 6-speed auto top speed: 143mph (78mph electric-only) 0-62mph: 6.1s co2 emissions: 48g/km economy: 155.2mpg combined (hybrid mode) charge time: As quick as 3.5hrs price: £43,775 (after govt. grant)

12 GCD

sort of thing you’d expect from a three or four-litre petrol engine. The lightest twitch on the throttle launches the car forward startlingly. Normally there’s a perceptible lag while the turbo spools up, but this is completely eliminated by the electric motor which is on hand to deliver instant power while the engine catches up. It’s sublime. We reach a set of lights and for a moment we set aside our carbon footprint and try the acceleration from a standstill. It’s not dissimilar to the sensation a couple of hours earlier just before our early morning flight to Edinburgh left the runway. The reason for this remarkable performance is the blend of the engine’s 212bhp and 324lb ft of torque with the motor’s 69bhp and 147lb ft of torque. While the output characteristics differ, which means calculating overall output isn’t simply a case of adding the figures together, the motor and engine combine to deliver a phenomenal helping of power and torque, particularly from standstill.

The price of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid might come as something of a surprise: at £43,775, af-ter the £5,000 government grant, it’s far from cheap. But then the battery pack alone costs Volvo £8500 which goes a long way to explaining the premium over the standard models. And at just under £10,000 more than the Vauxhall Ampera it still seems a positive bargain.

I find it hard to express how much I liked this car. The conception, build quality and fin-ish are all to Volvo’s typically high standard and the logic with which the technology is implemented and then translated to the driver is superb. The car is capable of running as a zero emission vehicle for 31 miles -- a figure Volvo have calculated to cater for 75% of daily commutes. As a hybrid it returns just 48g/km CO2, which means it has free tax as well as being remarkably efficient. Yet in ‘Power’ mode it’s Volvo’s fastest accelerating car bar none, dispensing 0-62 in 6.1 seconds and topping out at 143mph. It’s also capable of a (theoretical) 155mpg. I would go as far as saying this is the best green car I’ve ever driven.

Every car on the road today is a compromise in some way, but if you want to do your bit for the environment during the week yet still have a high-performance, dynamic, fun, yet practical car when the mood takes you, at this price there really is no other option, espe-cially not one which takes one parking space, one (free) tax disc and one insurance poli-cy. Think of a manufacturer that is a vanguard in the electric car field, and it would most likely be Renault, Nissan or Toyota. It certainly wouldn’t be Volvo, but this (as well as the electric C30) can be seen as a clear statement of their intentions with alternative fuel.

Our advice: buy one. Volvo have only allocated 150 cars to the UK this year which unlike our test car will be the facelifted 2014 model available from May 2013, so, like Volvo, you’d better make it quick.

aboveNordic interior styling suits the V60’s clean drivetrain

oppositeDespite the high price, the UK’s allocation of hybrids is sold-out

GCD 13

Speed demons blurring the lines

wORDS RiCHARD LANE

(Hyper)Hybrids

Hypercars are a cyclical business. What I mean is that whilst there’s a constant stream of very fast sports cars rolling off production lines in Stuttgart, Modena and Sant’Agata, every so often we see cars of such unimaginable speed, jaw-drop-

ping aesthetic and technological innovation that the game immediately moves up and onto a previously unknown level. These cars are ‘hypercars’.

One such cycle happened in the early nineties, when Jaguar unveiled the freakishly fast but equally beautiful XJ220, which had a top speed of 213mph, only for it to be blown into the weeds by Gordon Murray’s legendary McLaren F1, which had a top speed of 243mph. Let’s not forget Marcello Gandini’s Bugatti EB110, either, which still has the presence to put manners on even the most formidable modern-day hypercars.

The cycle recurred a decade later. This time Ferrari’s Enzo, a race-bred Porsche Carrera GT and what is still the fastest car in the world ‒ Bugatti’s 268mph Veyron ‒ went head to head. By 2004 technology had moved on to surpass Formula 1 standards in some aspects and the cars were totaling £1 million in a few cases. Supercars today, in fact, are only just catching up with the hypercars of 2004.

Like clockwork, 2013 sees another onslaught of these cars, but there’s a difference this time. They’ve all got electric motors. They’re all hybrids.

Mclaren P1

price: £866,000 examples: 375

engine: 727bhp V8 Hybrid

electric Motor: 177bhp/192lb ft

combined power: 903bhp

0-60mph: <3.0sec top speed: 217mph

carbon dioxide: <200g/km electric range: >6 miles

7KH�PRVW� VFLHQWLŵF� RI� WKH� WULR�� WKH� 3�őV� HQWLUH�existence is dictated by the mathematics of

physics. That it looks breathtaking and can

travel respectable distances on electric power

LV� DOPRVW� D� IRUWXQDWH� FRLQFLGHQFH�� ,WőV� EXLOW�IRU� VSHHG� DQG� HIŵFLHQF\� DORQH�� 0F/DUHQőV�biggest headache came about by trying to

achieve 600kg of downforce at 150mph whilst

making the P1 as aerodynamically economical

as possible; a conundrum the F1-trained

engineers who worked on the car solved by

imitating leading edges and radii found in the

QDWXUDO�ZRUOG��0DQWD� UD\V�DQG�VKDUNV�EHFDPH�the subject of biomimicry and as a result the P1

may well be the fastest of the trio, too.

FerrarI�/D)HUUDUL

price: £1,000,000 examples: 499 engine: 789bhp

V12 with HYKERS electric Motor: 161bhp/199lb ft

combined power: 950bhp 0-60mph <3.0sec

top speed: 219mph+ carbon dioxide: 300/km

electric range: None

Ferrari kept the wraps on this one right up until the literal

ZUDSV� FDPH� RII� WKH� FXULRXVO\� QDPHG� /D)HUUDULőV� LPSRVLQJ�ŵJXUH�DW�WKLV�\HDUőV�*HQHYD�0RWRU��)HUUDULőV�K\SHUK\EULG�LV�D�monster, with wide shut-lines reminiscent of the F40 and a

YHH�VKDSHG�)RUPXOD�2QH�HVTXH�VQRXW��,WőV�DOVR�WKH�FDU�WKDW�ZHDUV�WKH�ŐJUHHQő�PRQLNHU�PRVW�XQFRPIRUWDEO\��7KH�0F/DUHQ�and Porsche are inherently technological devices – both are

plug-in hybrids with the option of exclusively electric power.

The Ferrari, on the other hand, uses a mighty V12 rather than

a more economical V8 and although its electric HY-KERS

boosts performance, does it boost it more than removing

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porsche 918 Spyder

price: £664,135 examples: 918 engine: 599bhp V8 Hybrid electric Motor: 240bhp combined power: 875bhp 0-60mph: 2.8sec top speed: 211mph

carbon dioxide: 70g/km electric range: 16 miles

The Porsche is the least exclusive and least expensive hyperhybrid. Since the car was

XQYHLOHG�DW�WKH�*HQHYD�0RWRU�6KRZ�LQ��ZHőYH�EHHQ�RQ�D�GULS�IHHG�RI�WHFKQLFDO�GHWDLOV�DQG�ŐVS\ő�VKRWV�IURP�3RUVFKHőV�PDUNHWLQJ�GHSDUWPHQW��7KHUHőV�QR�GRXEW�WKDW�WKH��6S\GHU�ZLOO�EH�IULJKWHQLQJO\�IDVW��EXW�LWőV�KHDYLHU�DQG�OHVV�SRZHUIXO��HYHQ�DIWHU�a power-boosting fettle) than the cars it needs to beat. Where it wins hands down is

in the environmental stakes. With the most powerful battery and electric motor, zero

HPLVVLRQV� UDQJH�FRXOG�EH�FORVH� WR��PLOHV�� ,WőV� IDLU� WR� VD\� WKDW� WKH�� LV�DOVR� WKH�most traditionally beautiful car here, with handsome curves and a design language

that speaks rather than shouts. It may not be the fastest or the most expensive, but

whether that matters is questionable.

GCD 15

(hyPer)hybriDS CARS

Discussing the practicalities of electric cars is a can of worms, and one that many are reluctant to open. One particular practicality doesn’t concern range anxiety, battery costs, charge time or anything like that, however, it concerns sound.

Sound, in general terms, is already a hot topic with electric cars ‒ Nissan’s latest Leaf employs a BOSE sound system that uses half the energy of the previous system and Audi invested a lot of time developing electronic engine roar for the stillborn R8 e-Tron. These energy-saving sound systems are another story, however. HALOsonic - a collaboration between Harman and Lotus ‒ focuses on sound itself and how it can influence virtually everything inside and around a car.

Silence is considered one of key constituents of luxury. It’s why the cabin of a Rolls-Royce Phantom is eerily quiet and until now it’s been one of key selling points for hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius as well as pure EVs. This will all change when legislation demanding near-si-lent cars produce a synthesized sound comes into force first in the USA and later in Europe.

Why? To stop everybody getting run over, which is a goal one and all can agree on. The abil-ity to hear vehicles approaching is clearly of even greater importance to elderly or visually impaired pedestrians. The volume of the sound cars produce will of course be mandated, but interestingly the type of sound won’t. Some people are going to have a lot of fun, you’d imagine, but the reality is that people driving a hybrid GMC in rural Colorado are going to need a different sound to their electric Corvette-driving counterparts in Beverley Hills.

This is where HALOsonic comes in, and it is taking automotive sound synthesis a step further with aural expertise from Steve Levine. Levine, famous for producing records for both Culture Club and the Beach Boys, isn’t an automotive person per se, but an ownership history that includes machines as raw as a classic TVR and Porsche 911 3.2 says otherwise. He is, in other words, the right kind of man for the job and explains the technology with a simplicity that is greatly appreciated.

HALOsonic technology can be roughly split into two parts: what pedestrians outside the vehicle hear and what occupants inside the vehicle hear, but also, importantly, how they perceive it.

wORDS RiCHARD LANE

The trouble of needing noise where there isn’t any

Halosonic

Lotus’s Evora 414E Hybrid has undergone acoustic engineering to incorporate HALOsonic amongst its many other environmental tricks

16 GCD

CARS haloSonic

Creating an external sound is fairly straightforward. A speaker is mounted behind the front bumper, slightly offset, and projects a given sound ahead. To date, the most popular ideas have been futuristic humming sounds but the unit also has to be resilient enough to handle freezing and equally very high temperatures as well as water ingress. These can all be accommodated for. Noise pollution is of course a serious issue, but with the direction of sound accurately controlled and no exhaust noise at the rear, HALOsonic-equipped cars have proven more easily heard on ap-proach but quieter after passing as the sound decay is quicker. Above 50mph the external speaker switches off as wind noise and tyre roar take over̶the transition occurs at around 20mph. So far so good, but it’s on the inside where things get interesting. Would you like your electric car to sound like a Pagani Zonda? The SS Enterprise? Or perhaps a Ford Transit?

HALOsonic will let you do this and it will let you do it convinc-ingly. Lotus has contributed to the project by sharing their knowledge of the individual algorithms that track inputs such as pedal depression, steering input and gear changes. They use this data to make the right decisions regarding tyre wear, fu-el-air mix and engine mapping for their F1 cars. When applied to in-car acoustics the same technology allows for the produc-tion of sounds in real time. So if you accelerate, the sound pre-cisely matches your inputs in terms of both tone and volume, and likewise for braking. Levine stresses that the system is fully integrated and not simply a prerecorded track. The end result is that you get a driving experience that’s perfectly aligned to what you would expect in a petrol or diesel car.

It’s easy to underestimate the sensory effect sound has on us when we drive. The system also means that the tactile feed-back absent in electric cars ‒ namely the feelings of engine

braking and judging distances ‒ can be put back into driving. Of course, dipping the throttle on a docile Prius and hearing the sound of a red-blooded V12 is a somewhat incongruous experience, but it highlights the possibilities.

This kind of experiential manipulation can also be used to more Machiavellian ends. We all like familiarity, particularly with costly products such as cars. Manufacturers could, however, recreate an accustomed sound even though the car itself ‒ its drivetrain ‒ uses less familiar tech. The level of detail is im-mense and alternator whine, spark plugs and induction noise can all be sonically recreated. One potential use is to make die-sel-engined cars sound like they have a petrol engine, which would encourage uptake in the diesel-skeptic USA. A develop-ment car fitted with this exact specification already exists.

Another aspect of Halosonic is noise cancellation. The system can pick up on road, tyre and engine noise and play a can-celling frequency back through the car. Sounds simple, but as always it’s absurdly complicated, although the benefits of re-moving heavy NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) materials are plain to see. The end result is that your car is quieter and more efficient, and wasn’t that one of the original draws of electric cars in the first place?

There’s never been any doubt that sound is an integral part of the driving experience, but so far it’s been an entirely hedonistic affair. Now technology is allowing companies like Harman to use sound to make cars safer, more efficient, and also fun. HALOsonic is due in electric production cars this year, and although its ar-chitect is tight-lipped on the exact clients, they’ve confirmed that it’s a Europen OEM. BMW i3, anyone? We’ll have to wait and see.Now, try to imagine that V8 twin-turbo Tesla again.

GCD 17

When Renault’s all-electric ZOE goes on sale in June it’s going to buck several trends. Starting at £13,650 (plus battery rental

from £70 a month) it’s going to cost considerably less than anything that bears comparison. With an NEDC range of 130 miles it will also go further than any-thing this side of a Tesla Model S. Perhaps most impor-tant, however, is that the Renault ZOE bucks the trend of aesthetically challenged electric cars. And how. The problem has been that, though for a noble cause, cars such as the G-Wiz did considerable harm to the perception of electric cars. Small, cumbersome and neither lovable nor sexy, they set the tone for envi-ronmental mobility. Even Nissan’s Leaf - a formidable piece of engineering and a real pleasure to drive - succumbed to this design vacuum. Is it any wonder that electric car sales have struggled, especially giv-en that as humans we’re extremely responsive to art and especially that which is easy on the eye? Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that the environmental deadlock may be about to be broken, to some extent at least, by a traditionally romantic brand in Renault.

wORDS RiCHARD LANE / PHOTOS MARK RAyBONE

renaultZOE

CARS renault Zoe

Electric cars are dead?Someone forgot to tell the French

18 GCD

GCD 19

The ZOE story began early in 2008 when project X10 - an electric supermini intended for mass market - was announced. Less than a year later pre-project teams had given X10 the go-ahead for a car whose design would be “friendly and reassuring for an innovative, responsible all-electric vehicle.” Fast forward through a concept unveiled at 2009’s Frankfurt Motor Show and the production car’s subsequent unveiling at Geneva last year and we’re finally driving a new kind of halo model. Not the halo model with the biggest, most powerful engine, or the halo model that costs the most with lashings of soft leather and walnut trim, but an easily accessible zero emissions vehicle that looks the part kind of halo model. That’s progress. Whilst the ZOE’s range is nothing revolutionary (despite the NEDC range of 130 miles, Renault quote real-world benchmarks of 90 miles in temperate climates and 60 in cold weather conditions), several other innovations are. Three technologies grouped together under the ‘Range OptimiZEr’ banner include a regenerative braking system that works during both braking and off-throttle deceleration. Coupled with custom-de-veloped Michelin tires and a heat pump that uses a third the power of a conventional system they help extend range by 25%. As well as being a zero emissions vehicle, the ZOE will also let you know how econom-ically you’re driving, too. The fully digital readout glows green for eco-driving, blue if you’re a bit heavier on the throttle and brakes and violet (not red, interestingly) if you’re consuming a lot more energy than you need to. A dedicated ECO mode also exists, where-by power sent to the motor, air conditioning and heating is limited to increase range. If one thing defines the ZOE, however, then it’s the exterior design. Built on the same platform as the Clio 4, the ZOE features beautiful ridged surfacing interspersed by Renault ZE’s (zero emissions) signature blue detailing, such as the Renault badges, light inserts and grille-surround. Blue window tints also give the ZOE a unique aesthetic amongst hatchbacks and the rear light graphic is truly concept car-worthy with one of the most intricate inner structures ever seen on a production car. Look closer and even more details come to life, not least the black C-pillar inserts that exaggerate the rear windscreen’s elliptical dimensions and the hidden rear door handles that bear a thumb-print relief from the designer - Jean Sémériva. It was Sémériva’s desire for lines

this pageabove:Interior plays lacquered white plastics off against blue chrome and smart digital readouts

oppositeabove:‘The moustache’ – Laurens van den Acker’s signature headlight/grille integration adorns the front. Sketched by Jean Sémériva

right:Blue ‘jewellery’ is part of the ZOE’s unique design language and sets Renault’s zero emissions models apart from their conventional cars

ZOE treads the line

between novelty

and reassurance

20 GCD

running the length of the body, seamlessly flowing into one another with no “cut-off points”, that convinced Renault to take his design to production. Details aside it’s the front graphic that packs the hardest visual impact and, featuring Laurens van den Acker’s larger logo and integrated headlight and grille graphic (per-haps unkindly nicknamed ‘the moustache’ by some at Renault), the aim of creating a friendly and appealing look is nicely realised. If you’re curious to know how ‘green’ or environmental awareness might be expressed through design then the ZOE’s interior - at least in the higher Dynamique Zen spec - is a good place to start. From modular seats to a wind turbine blade-inspired band across the dash, the ZOE’s interior features soft, light forms that reflect simplicity. Materials are soft to touch and absorb light without reflecting it too brightly. Blue chrome and gloss white plastic draw the eye and also keep things interesting. It’s small details such as the contoured light switches and honeycomb grille inside the air vents, however, that make the ZOE a curious place to be. The production ZOE also takes inspiration from the Frankfurt Motor Show concept’s ‘Spa’ theme. A carbon particle filter purifies air going into the cabin, removing most smells and pollutants, whilst the air conditioning actively adjusts humidity levels to stop occupants’ skin drying out. Dynamique Zen models also feature a toxicity sensor that will automatically recirculate air in the cabin if outside air is too polluted and a scent diffuser with “relaxing or stimulating properties”. Ultimately the ZOE offers a fairly typical EV driving experience - the kind of planted but slightly inert experience we’d expect from a EV. What differentiates it from the competition, however, is that it really feels like the complete package. Here’s a car that’s refined, clean at point of use and features an intelligent and emotional design derived from Renault’s more circumspect philosophy for electric vehicles. Buying and owning a ZOE won’t be about making a point or taking a stance. It will be about enjoy-ment and delight in the product, and for many in a position to buy such a car the ZOE may well prove irresistible. The real talking point about this car is that Renault has created a genuinely desirable electric car. Bravo.

renault Zoe dynaMIque Zen power: 65kW torque: 220Nm top speed: 84mph 0-30mph: 4 seconds range: 130 miles NEDC price: From £14,750 Battery rental costs from £70 per month for up to 7,500 miles per year, and Renault are currently offering a free wallbox charger with new ZOEs.

GCD 21

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FiaT 500c Colour TheraphySnapshot: Fiat's blast from the past

photos olgun kordal

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CARS Fiat 500c colour theraPy

Following hot on the heels of Renault’s recent collaboration with Ross Lovegrove, Toyota unveiled the ME.WE concept at its Rendez Vous atelier in Paris last month.

Created by renowned French architect and furniture mak-er Jean-Marie Massaud in conjunction with Toyota’s ED2 design studio in France, the experimental concept explores sustainable design themes through a range of renewable and recyclable ma-terials ‒ notably expanded polypropylene body panels, bamboo decking and seats made from hemp fibres.

Wanting to align itself with Massaud’s design philosophy of creat-ing harmony between human beings and their natural surround-ings, Toyota invited the designer to its ED2 studios and gave him a simple brief: to design a B-segment car he would like to drive.

“We asked him to propose some solutions for a B-segment sized car in Europe,” recalls project chief designer Laurent Bouzige. What came next was an environmentally efficient, back-to-basics ve-hicle designed to be the antithesis of exaggerated opulence.

The ME.WE’s simple design can be configured to cater to a range of uses. With its side glazing and windscreen lowered the car can be made into a cabriolet, while a cleverly integrated neoprene sheet can cover luggage stowed atop its bamboo-clad roof. Its polypropylene panels can also be customized to suit different

tastes. It’s more of a lifestyle vehicle than a status symbol.

In that sense, it’s true to its French origins. The ME.WE could actually be seen as the modern day interpretation of the Citroen Mehari ‒ its body panels and simple IP are just some of the ele-ments that reference the iconic French vehicle, which itself was an inspiration for Massaud. But the goal was more far reaching than that.

“We asked ourselves how, with current technology, can we inno-vate and create something satisfying for the user,” Massaud told Green Car Design. It’s an approach Massaud used in the creation of collective spaces he’s designed, such as the Manned Cloud rov-ing hotel and the Volcano stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The answer was seen in creating a ‘popular’ vehicle that tran-scends class and provides a sensory experience; something Bou-zige says fits with Toyota’s Vibrant Clarity design philosophy. Toyota’s savoir-faire in alternatively propelled powertrains also came into play ‒ providing the car with four in-wheel electric motors sourced from the recently revealed i-Road concept.

As far as collaborations with industrial designers go, the ME.WE can not only be seen as a successful concept, but one that further reinforces the automaker’s eco credentials with a view toward more sustainable design solutions for the future.

Toyota’s anti-crisis car aims to save the world

wORDS ERiC GALLiNA

Toyota ME.WE

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toyota me.we CARS

Nissan made quite a statement by launching the new, second generation LEAF in the battery-sapping cold of Oslo. Surprisingly, Norway is the biggest market for the LEAF in Europe, where Nissan’s halo EV is even the sixth best-selling car.

The country encourages its citizens to buy electric vehicles with the exemption of tax on purchase, as well as offering free parking and free charging in the city centres. EV owners are also allowed to use bus lanes, which turns out to be very convenient espe-cially during rush hour. Taking all of these factors into account, then, it makes a lot of sense for Nissan to launch the new LEAF in the Norwegian capital.

Nissan claims that it made over 100 changes to the new LEAF - relying heavily on cus-tomer feedback - and proudly states that 93% of European customers are fully satisfied with their product. The changes to the LEAF are not very obvious from the outside, as the grille was only slightly modified and the car now sits on 17“ ‘Tekna’-spec alloy wheels, which give it a much better stance.

Changes underneath the skin, however, go much deeper. One of the biggest chang-es in terms of vehicle packaging is the power delivery module (charging unit), which has been moved from the boot to the front of the vehicle, increasing the boot space to 370 litres (330 litres before). The power delivery unit has also been reduced in size and weight, and now combines with the inverter and electric motor to save 32kg over the old setup.

One of the biggest problems with EVs is the heating system. Traditional EVs ‘burn’ pre-cious energy keeping occupants warm; whilst in traditional combustion vehicles the hot air for heating the cabin is just a by-product of the engine. To tackle this issue, Nissan has introduced a heat pump system that they claim is 70% more efficient than the cur-rent system in the original LEAF. On top of that, driving range has been extended from

nIssan leaF tekna power: 109PS electric motor0-62mph: 11.5s top speed: 90mph range: 124 miles price: £25,490 with battery pack (incl. government grant) ‘Visia’-spec is £15,995 + battery rental from £70 per month

Cheaper, quicker to charge and with greater range.The second generation LEAF, alas, is no prettier

wORDS MARCuS CLASSEN / PHOTOS OLGuN KORDAL

nissan LEAF

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CARS niSSan leaF

109 to 124 miles, which does not seem like much on paper, but in a real life scenario 15 miles could make all the difference, especially when you are getting lost or stuck in traffic.

Through introducing two new driving modes (ECO and B-mode), Nissan also claim that the new LEAF is much more efficient than before. ECO mode alters the throttle map-ping to discourage rapid acceleration, whilst B-mode introduces regenerative braking. As the first generation LEAF was only available as one standardised version, custom-ers can now choose between three different versions: Visia (entry level, starting from £20,990), Acenta (medium spec, starting from £23,490) and Tekna (premium spec, starting from £25,490). For the first time Nissan also offers battery leasing, which cuts £5,000 off the original purchasing price. Like Renault’s ZOE, battery packs can be leased from only £70 pounds a month, depending on monthly mileage.

These are the facts, but how does the car perform?

The LEAF is very popular with families, and when you sit in it, it becomes obvious why. The driver and front passenger sit nice and high in the new LEAF, feeling very calm and protected. The rear seats are higher than the front seats, as they are placed above the battery pack whilst still offering sufficient leg and headroom. With the introduc-tion of the new Tekna model, the Leaf can now also be ordered with a black interior and black leather seats, which are very comfy and ergonomically sound. The dials are clear and condensed, telling you exactly how much battery power is left and which mode you are in, whilst not bombarding you with any unnecessary information. What hasn’t changed is the ride, which is still extremely smooth and quiet, making for very pleasant driving experience. When the car is not in ECO-mode you can really feel the re-engineered steering, which is direct and made the LEAF really fun to drive, espe-cially on snaking Norwegian mountain roads.

GCD 25

Sounds too good to be true.

Maybe it is, because interior quality is something of a letdown. The dashboard is made from roughly textured cheap plastic, with crooked split lines. The big central touchscreen appears to be stuck on and is not integrated well into the dashboard’s overall shape .The worst thing is that you can see the edge of the two materials meeting around the touch screen which is an absolute turn off, if you’ll forgive the pun. Nissan decided to paint some interior parts in gloss black and sometimes even gloss blue on a smooth plastic surface, which makes the interior look even cheaper. This is, of course, subjective, but generally shiny plastics don’t exactly shout ‘classy’. The over-all quality is more that of an early nineties Renault Twingo interior than a supposed to be ’state of the art’ electric vehicle. With an expensive drivetrain, the LEAF is certainly built to a price, and perhaps it’s the interior that suffers for it.

The exterior styling has been discussed controver-sially before and it still seems like the overall de-sign is not fully resolved. The low, more conserv-atively styled front with its long snout does not really merge with the unorthodox, concave rear, as those two sections look like they belong to two completely different vehicles. The shoulder line does not solve this problem, either, and its com-plexity and various direction changes seem to push all the weight of the car to the rear, leaving a lot of visual weight on the rear axle. This makes the car look too heavy, and weight is not an attribute that you want to be associated with an electric vehicle where lightness and efficiency means everything.

In general, the exterior styling looks like it was sup-posed to introduce a new electric form language but stopped half way along the way ‒ it looks too differ-ent to be a traditionally styled vehicle but too normal to be something truly new and fresh. Having said that, this type of more conservative styling with a little twist might appeal to the family market much more than a more brave, conceptual styling would.

To sum up, it’s fair to say that the second generation LEAF is a very impressive achievement in terms of tech-nology and engineering. Nissan are very proud and confident about their product and they should be, be-cause it provides the driver and occupants with a very sophisticated and refined electric driving experience.

The general impression is that you’re driving a very safe, reliable vehicle that you can trust. It is just a shame that the unresolved exterior styling and poor interior quality really lets it down, especially with the cheaper Renault Zoe already breathing down its neck.

26 GCD

GCD 27

As I write this it’s hitherto unknown whether the hydrogen-powered Rapide S that Aston Martin is racing at this year’s 24 Hours of Nürburgring event has set the first ever zero-emissions lap of the notorious Nordschliefe circuit or recreated the

equally infamous Hindenburg disaster, albeit on a slightly smaller scale.

I’ve been assured by Gonzalo Auil - one of the regional managers at Alset Global, who have made this attempt possible ‒ that “the latest technologies have proven that compressed hydrogen is no more dangerous than any gasoline tank”, but it still seems a courageous deed to take an already highly-strung and now potentially volatile race car around the 12.8-mile track that encloses the tiny village of Nürburg, pop.148. That’s seventy-three corners and an elevation change of 984-feet, all at speeds approaching 260km/h.

The Aston Martin Hydrogen Hybrid Rapide S, to give it its full name, will use a twin-tur-bo 6.0-litre V12 that can take either gasoline or hydrogen exclusively, or a mixture of the two for maximum power. It’s a unique, relatively inexpensive and altogether more straightforward application of hydrogen mobility in comparison to the ruinously ex-pensive fuel cell technology that we’ve been promised by various manufacturers for the past thirty years.

The Rapide carries 3.23kg of gaseous hydrogen in four super-strength carbon fibre stor-age tanks, two of which sit next to the driver. In more moderate driving conditions that’s enough fuel for a 200-300km range, but at race-pace it will last only a precious few laps.

wORDS RiCHARD LANE

A cleaner, greener HellOne zero-emissions lap of the Nordschliefe

With 200km zero emissions range there’s potential for this technologyon the road

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CARS aSton martin hyDrogen hybriD raPiDe S

Each time the Rapide pits during the 24-hours the race it will be refuelled firstly with hydrogen and then with gasoline. Somewhat awkwardly, the facilities at the Nurburgring do not permit the replenishing of both fuels simultaneously.

Whilst a hydrogen-powered racecar gives Aston Martin a nice slice of green technology in a portfolio full of heavy drinkers, the real goal is to get this technology into road cars. Auil says it’s currently mature enough ‒ although admits that there are still reliability tests to pass - and believes that unlike electric and hybrid cars (which, he adds, will always have their own urban-centric niche), Alset Global’s approach focuses more on changing the type of fuel our cars use, rather than the engine.

Estimated conversion costs amount to around 15% of a vehicle’s standard value, so a hydrogen hybrid Volkswagen Golf GTI, for example, would cost in the region of £28,750. Considering such a Golf would have 200-or-so miles of driving range with nothing exit-ing the exhaust pipes except water, on top of the 500-mile gasoline range, Alset’s model is hard to dispute.

Aston Martin’s impending lap of the ‘Ring makes for a stirring headline, but the bigger story here is the potential this technology has to transform the way we use hydrogen. Alset Global is currently working to open up a dialogue with various European govern-ments to garner some political commitment to the hydrogen cause. After all, they can only build the cars, not the infrastructure.

GCD 29

It’s rare for one car to break new ground in so many disciplines but development of the McLaren P1 has seen real step changes in materials, aerodynamics, performance, aesthetic design and electric powertrain technology.

Visiting McLaren’s Norman Foster-designed Technology Centre (MTC) to find out more about the P1’s gestation period ‒ which at fewer than four years has been quite frantic ‒ gives an insight into the distinctive ethos behind the car. The seemingly unsym-pathetic vibe in Woking isn’t something that everyone appreci-ates yet the P1 is a remarkable piece of design.

Just as Foster and McLaren chairman Ron Dennis exhibit similar-ly ironfisted personality traits, there are clear parallels between the P1 and the MTC. The titanium louvres above the engine bay are there for a reason, for example, and the artificial lake outside the Technology Centre serves a purpose as well, helping to cool the entire complex. A more vivid contrast to the hectic, flamboy-ant setup that exists at Maranello is difficult to envision. Ferra-ri’s manufacturing base is a lively industrial estate existing in complete contrast to the desaturated calm of McLaren’s polished headquarters. That’s not a criticism, that’s just the way it is. The MTC is utterly unique, and bears a closer resemblance to the laboratories at CERN than anything the automotive world can offer. Maranello, it must be said, is also a magical place to visit.

The spiritual homes of these two automotive giants are directly mirrored in their current road cars. The Ferrari 458 Italia is loud, effervescent, hairy-chested and very, very fast. It’s closest rival on the other hand is quieter, aesthetically much more restrained and more discreet overall. The McLaren 12C is also quite ridicu-lously fast. Now both companies have upped the ante considera-bly, however, with the P1 and LaFerrari hypercars.

Ferrari and McLaren aren’t the only ones in the business of build-ing ultra-low-volume, hand-built supercars, but despite such dis-parity in the way they go about doing it the end results seem fairly even. Ferrari’s LaFerrari is the only car that can stand toe-to-toe with the McLaren P1 at the moment, with Porsche franti-cally redressing the 918 Spyder’s bloated weight and relative lack of power. The word ‘relative’ is key here; Porsche’s Carrera GT replacement still develops 795bhp.

Nevertheless, if the supercar story of this era is to be a tale of two halves, then this ‒ the McLaren P1 ‒ is the objective chapter.

Design and materials for the world’s fastest car

WORDS RICHARD LANE

McLarenProject 12

30 GCD

DESIGN MCLAREN PROJECT 1

GCD 31

Form follows function,or does it?

McLaren’s design team is tiny. Whereas BMW employs over 800 design staff, there are just five based at Woking. This is partly because as a highly specialised outfit there are only ever a small handful of McLaren cars that actually need designing. The real reason for such a condensed design department, however, is more fundamental to the McLaren philosophy than mere numbers suggest.

McLaren’s aerodynamicists and engineers worked side by side with the traditional design-ers from the off. They are the other half of the design team. Proof of this characteristical-ly McLaren marriage is in the shrink-wrapped pudding of the P1’s exterior design. After the original concept was unveiled in Paris last year there was some criticism that the P1 had been designed in a wind tunnel, and there’s certainly some truth in that accusation.

“Normally you would give the design studio several months of free sketching time. How-ever, the performance criteria for the P1 was so great that we had the aerodynamicists and the engineers sitting with the designers, working together to ensure that what was being proposed could actually meet the performance targets,” recalls Paul Mackenzie, who as programme director has overseen ‘Project One’ since its embryonic stages in 2009. The thought of a Formula One-calibre aerodynamic engineer breathing down your neck whilst you sketch is almost certainly the stuff of nightmares for most car designers. Still, it’s an image that sums up the P1 nicely.

Designer Paul Howse, whose original concept theme was eventually chosen in Febru-ary 2010, echoes Mackenzie’s sentiment. “It’s about design not styling. You could draw

32 GCD

something that looked awesome, but it would be a show car with no function. It wouldn’t be able to achieve what this car achieves as a complete package”. Howse’ father himself worked on the as-sembly of McLaren’s original supercar, the F1, and so for all the seemingly cold objectivity of the McLaren approach to building cars there is some romance after all. It’s also worth mentioning that the P1 is Howse’ first car since he graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2008.

Suppressing true creative thought whilst designing any car is hard enough, then, but shelving artistic impulses during the conception of a supercar ‒ the most evocative of automotive forms - requires designers to employ a completely different mindset. That mindset sprung from turning the ‘persuasion of airflow’ ‒ as Paul Howse puts it - into a design language and taking inspiration from hy-droformed shapes commonly seen in marine environments. The broad, curved leading edges natural to Manta rays and sharks be-came the inspiration, and if the P1 is biomimicry - as it’s called - in the present-day, then today’s Formula One cars surely preview the hyper-evolved natural forms of the future. It’s all very ‘golden ratio’.

Step one was to vacuum-pack the P1’s mechanical internals as closely as possible, only then could the designers work back-

wards until the car’s aesthetics were right. This is the complete opposite of standard practice, where beauty takes precedence and is then tweaked to facilitate the small matter of physics. As power and speed increase, and with them the stakes, however, the equilibrium shifts. Whether you think the balance between functionality and beauty has been struck with the P1 is a delicate and personal issue, but there’s no doubt that the process was a painstaking as it’s possible for an automotive design project to be. The P1 is an exercise in organic geometry wholly implemented by the hands and minds of men. In this respect it’s a little humbling. The close-fitting nature of the layered bodywork draped over the P1’s powertrain led to a need to integrate certain components. The metallic louvres directly above the engine, for example, dou-ble up as a heat shield and as such are wrought of titanium. Sim-ply put, McLaren squashed the body down so tightly that there wasn’t room for both louvres and a heat shield, so two became one using one of the only materials capable of doing the job. The entire rear section of the exhaust is also clad in gold foil, again in the interests of heat management, which is just as well given that in race mode the air exiting the car is only just shy of 1,000°C. Gordon Murray employed the same seemingly lavish yet techni-cally warranted trick on the P1’s predecessor in 1992.

GCD 33

On the subject of exotic materials, it almost goes without saying that the P1’s body and interior is made entirely from carbon fibre. Over 200 separate compo-nents have been neatly merged into just three mould-ings: the frontal bodywork, a central ‘monocage’ structure and a larger but surprisingly flexible piece of rear bodywork. All are incredibly light; the front and rear sections can be lifted with one hand. These carbon fibre panels serve as a poignant illustration of the depth of engineering McLaren has poured into the P1. When McLaren was sourcing materials for the project the lightest carbon fibre on the market weighed 1.7kg per square metre. Fast-forward three years and the P1 panels weigh 1.5kg per square me-tre. It’s the sort of commitment to a singular cause that you can’t help but admire, even more so if your business card says Ferrari S.p.A on it, one must im-agine.If aerodynamic efficiency is one major theme of the P1, then weight saving is certainly the other. The toughened glass that forms the jet fighter-esque can-opy above the driver’s head is just 2.4mm thick. The windscreen is only marginally thicker at 3.2mm, and even that incorporates a plastic interlayer that helps save 3.5kg over the 12C’s 4.2mm windscreen (since when was 4.2mm thick?). The thin carbon fibre shells that form the seats are filled with high-density foam and there are no carpets in the P1, either. Even the absence of a resin lacquer on the exposed interior carbon fibre saves weight as well as looking absolute-ly superb. 1.5kg, if you’re counting.

You only get to see a car for the first time once and it’s that first impression which is often most telling. Truth be told, the P1 doesn’t have the immediate presence expected of a supercar; it’s quite small, taut and too neat. Its visual impact needs time to manifest, and it doesn’t take long to notice that the rear haunches are as dramatic as you’ll ever see on a performance car, riding high over the rear wheels before plunging downwards. The P1 has delicious hips. Similarly, the rear is an abyss designed to get as much hot air out of the car as quickly as possible. The result is an open-worked effect in the style of a skeletonised watch - a comparison that befits the P1’s horological level of de-tail. The steep boneline that indicates the flow of air into the rear radiators, the wickedly smirking front graphic, deep nostrils ‒ they’re all there.

The P1 has theatre, but it’s more of a slow-burner.

34 GCD

Light Alchemy

by JaguarwORDS RiCHARD LANE

Material science meets optic experimentation

GCD 35

light alchemy by jaguar DeSiGn

Touch and sight, materials and light. The senses of ‘feel’ and ‘see’ are almost entirely responsible for how we perceive things. Sound, taste and scent are also important but are

called into action less often. Jaguar’s installation at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week is not only more abstract than the clay C-X16 model sportscar exhibited last year but is also more poign-ant and certainly more indicative of the brand. Break Jaguar’s phi-losophy down to its component parts and you’re left with supple lines that are beautiful in their simplicity and the use of fine nat-ural materials. Light Alchemy, the work of two final year students at the Royal College of Art, aims to capture this heritage whilst ex-ploring future design processes that will move Jaguar away from the more prescribed days of ‘wood plus leather equals luxury’.

At its heart Light Alchemy is a five-and-a-half-metre sculpture made from glass-reinforced plastic coated in a versatile blend-ed copper/resin finish. Neatly circumventing the need for an enormous kiln or electrolytic bath, the copper is painted on and what makes the installation so eye-catching is the way Ewan Gallimore’s (MA Vehicle Design) titillating sketch work has been brought to life by Claire Miller’s (MA Textiles) inventive treat-ment of materials. Rather than the installation being the centre of its environment ‒ in this case Clerkenwell’s Farmiloe Building ‒ the sculpture’s surroundings are central to understanding it. Natural light floods in from a large aperture in the roof whilst the Victorian warehouse’s elevated walkways and deep floors mean Light Alchemy can be seen from almost any angle. The sculpture itself is open, like a seashell or seed husk, and can be looked ‘into’ and ‘through’ just as much as it can be looked ‘at’.

“Part of our inspiration came from artists who designed installa-tions based on light and emitting light,” Gallimore says, and the use of copper is a result of its acutely lustrous quality, picking up light and reflecting it in relatively dark environments. Along-side Walter de Maria’s metallic sculptures the pair cite James Turrell’s work ‒ the American artist recognized for the Stone Age Skyspace installation amongst other optic creations ‒ as a stimulus and whilst in the computer-aided design (CAD) stage

of the project actually removed any parts of the body that were not reflecting light. The result is subtle but concentrates the car’s elemental form. The parts you see are the important ones and the absence of ‘filler’ bodywork makes what’s left all the more striking. An urgent, forward-leaning stance with elevated rear haunches references the agile D-Type and elegant XK120, but blown up and exaggerated in the style of countless automotive sketches. It’s almost a caricature, and Gallimore says his chief aim was that sculpture should look like a three-dimensional sketch.

Miller’s work is more subtle in its execution but no less impres-sive. Embracing trompe-l’œil techniques, Light Alchemy looks to deceive at every opportunity. Many materials aren’t evident on the finished piece, but whilst experimenting with samples, heav-ily textured bodywork was treated with gloss, giving a wet ap-pearance to dry materials whilst bronze that was cast off a leath-er imprint in the foundry was virtually indistinguishable from a real leather counterpart. That is until it’s picked up, at least, at which point the vast difference is weight gives the game away. Another sample that played on this deceit was a copper-electro-plated wire mesh: the weight is an illusion but the quality feel and beautiful appearance are not. Surely there’s an application for this kind of trickery in production cars, where heavy, luxuri-ous materials can be accommodated for without a weight penal-ty, increasing all round efficiency no end?

Far from being inert, copper forms often pretty patinas as it ages and slowly oxidizes. After the sculpture was buffed to a shine (that’s 30 hours of hand-polishing), Miller set about ac-celerating the oxidization process using acids and manipulat-ing where and to what extent the patinas formed. With their respective courses to complete at the RCA it was impossible for both to be with the sculpture all the time. The charming solution was to leave small instructions and codes detail-ing various treatments for each part of the metal all over the bodywork for Jaguar’s team to complete. This was undoubt-edly easier said than done, considering Miller’s desire for organic transitions between the different surface textures.

36 GCD

GCD 37

Jaguar’s brief was to present the future whilst incorporating the past. It sounds like a cliché but if a marque is lucky enough to have a history ‒ particularly a history like Jaguar’s ‒ it would be foolish not to play on it to some extent. Jaguar also has a slightly aged brand image that it’s slowly shifting. The reinvention of classic, organic materials that are synonymous with luxury is clever and resourceful whilst the realization of a classically beautiful but contemporarily proportioned car whose form is implied by the way it reacts with light is frankly magnificent. The selection of material and the subse-quent manipulation it undergoes is also unique. Jaguar would do well to keep tabs on Miller and Gallimore.

Light Alchemy won’t stay in Clerkenwell for long, but will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in mid-June.

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38 GCD

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“I n hindsight I wasn’t at all ready for it , I was naïve. In a way it was like trying to compose without knowing how to play the piano.”

This is how Renault’s head of design Laurens van den Ack-er looks back on his involvement in Bugatti’s EB110 supercar. After senior designers fell out he was left as the only interi-or designer, and none other than Marcello Gandini took care of the exterior. With Volvo trucks the only other work in his portfolio, the monstrous Bugatti wasn’t a bad way to start a career as a car designer.

Fast forward twenty-two years and after stints at Audi, Ford and most recently Mazda he finds himself with the mission of engaging Renault with buyers on an emotional level again whilst managing the façade of their electric aspirations. That’s a big ask right now.

Renault’s Technocentre on the outskirts of Paris is not what you’d expect. Its cold, stepped concrete mass is a strange bastardisation of the carefree cars Renault have traditionally made ‒ cars like the 5 and 4CV ‒ but it’s nevertheless home to the company’s main design studio and, for now at least, Acker.

After driving through the night and battling truly malevo-lent Parisian rush hour traffic, Laurens’ warm, Zen-like of-fice deep inside the Renault’s technological fortress was the perfect tonic and good setting to discuss Renault’s bohemi-an concept cars, the future of their electric strategy and what Laurens himself thinks of cars.

wORDS RiCHARD LANE / PHOTOS OLGuN KORDAL

Interview withlaurensvan den acker

40 GCD

inteRview van Den acker

Obviously when you moved from Mazda to Renault they needed

a change, and you came up with a strategy around the cycle of

life. Where did the spark come from?

When the [Renault] management attracted me, they asked me to open up a new chapter for the brand in terms of design and design strategy. That’s the main reason I came, because it’s not very often that a big car company wants to start a design strategy with a blank sheet of paper. So I think it was key for me to first find out what this company was about, and I think the most important point was a time when Renault were designing ‘cars for living’ ‒ like the Espace and Twingo - and this was their philosophy in the middle of the nineties when Renault were extremely strong.

I think Renault has always been a human-centric brand ‒ not geared towards performance like the Germans, not geared towards improving cars but with a bit of an anonymous shape like the Japa-nese brands ‒ but really centred around humans. So, ‘Cycle of Life’ (below) became the logical way to create a connection with all the different clients. We’re a generalist brand so we make crossovers, we make commercial vehicles and so many different types of vehi-cle, so how could I make sense of it?

I said, ‘Renault makes cars to fall in love with - like the Alpine or the first Twingo - we make familiy cars like the Scenic, we make commercial vehicles, we do Renaultsport ‒ fun vehicles ‒ and then we do EVs [electric vehicles], which are vehicles for ‘wisdom’, so there is link between the stages of life and the vehicles we make. It was a nice way to tie it all together in a simple way.

And which stage of the seven means the most to you?

I think for me what was key was to make people fall in love again with the Renault brand. That was the first job that I had, because people can fall out of love and I felt that people had fallen out of love with Renault. There’s a lot of sympathy for the brand, but to a certain degree we had disappointed our custom-ers. So my biggest job was to make people fall in love again, and I think the Dezir showed ambition and it was the first test ‒ could we excite people again?

You mentioned the Japanese makers, how does the ethos differ

from design studios in the Far East to here in Europe?

When you leave one country and go to the next you find out what you’re made of. When I left Holland to go to Italy I found out I was Dutch, and going from Europe to the [United] States I found out I was European. And when you go from the States to Japan you find out that you’re Western. So, it was fun for me to come back to France because it was like a culture shock in reverse.

I think that the biggest difference is that in Japan the company is most important, then the team and then you. In a Western socie-ty you are most important, then your favourite football club and your family, and then maybe the company. This is an individual society, and in Japan there is a strong sense of unity. That means that when you come into a design studio the advantage is that I felt like I’d come to Mazda and landed into a Formula One seat ‒ because if you know where to go everybody will support you to get there. People will say ‘You’re the new chief, tell us where to

go, but make sure that whatever you do helps Mazda in the next ten years.’ The perspective was different ‒ they were not interest-ed in a quick fix, they wanted a long-term plan.

When I came back to Europe, people here are not willing to just follow and you have to inspire them, but if you can inspire them then you benefit from all of their character and individuality and creativity. You can steer things much more easily, so I think the challenge here is to inspire, but the challenge in Japan is to lead.

So which job is more pressurised?

This one. Absolutely. I arrived in Japan on the heels of Moray Callum and Mazda had a very clear idea of what they wanted to be. They had come up with ‘Zoom zoom’ and had the MX-5, the RX-7 and of all the Japanese brands they were the lightest, the most sporty and most stylish. It was very clear, in terms of brands, what they were about.

When I came to Renault, I came to a company that was a bit lost for a couple of years, and desperately needed to find some direc-tion quickly. I felt the pressure, as after Mazda it was like a second album, which has be on time and on budget.

J Mays is now operating with Ford’s global design policy.

Does that sort of approach work – could it work for Renault?

I learned a lot at Ford, because Ford had gone through a phase where we accumulated brands ‒ Land Rover, Aston Martin, Jag-uar and Volvo ‒ so there was a strong need for brand management and I happened to be part of a group that was called the ‘brand imaging’ group and it helped J separate the brands. If you have seven brands you need to give them all an identity. Then Ford went through a downsizing phase, and now I think J is counting his blessings because life has become a lot easier. He can devote all his attention to Ford and Lincoln.

The reality is that you need to create a consistent image in the global market and the face plays a very strong role in this. When I came to Renault I think they needed to get more attrac-tive cars in general, so I decided to do cars that were more hu-man, more central, more warm, more simple, to be more Latin as I feel France is a Latin country ‒ not cold like the Germans or hot like the Italians, it’s warm ‒ and also find a place for Da-cia so the two brands are complimentary. So I decided to stay Germanic and robust with Dacia.

The second thing that was important was to give Re-nault a face, but to let every car express its own identity. I think this is okay in France with 30% market share, but in other markets it’s important.

Renault has been very brave with its zero emissions vehicles,

whilst everyone else has held back. In terms of brand and

identity, how do you express ‘green’ in a vehicle?

I think what’s good about the zero emissions strategy from Re-nault is that they realise we needed a breakthrough in terms of emissions ‒ there might be a crisis now but we all know that the car market will double in the next twenty years. Hybridization is a more efficient way, but it’s only giving us the benefit of minus

GCD 41

above2011’s Captur Concept represented ‘Explore’ in the Life Cycle, and duly explored fluid shapes relating to nature and terrain. Sketched by Julio Lozano

oppositeDezir was Laurens’ first Life Cycle concept. It might not be immediately obvious, but Dezir is all-electric. A 24kWh battery gives it a range of 160km

10% or 20% [emissions] and it’s not enough to compensate for this doubling of car volumes. The management felt we needed a breakthrough, and the only one that is technically feasible at the moment is electric. They decided to do not just one car but a series, and our line-up of four cars shows what the opportunities are. You have the Kangoo, which is a light transport vehicle and it’s perfect for the post, for example, where you know they’re going to do 80km and come back every day. We have an el-egant sedan in the Fluence, and the Zoe, which is a very contemporary car, and then theTwizy, which is a radical, revolutionary plaything. I think it shows the breadth of what you can achieve with electric vehicles, and I think what’s cool about the Twizy is the sympathy people feel towards it.

What do you think of the Twizy?

I was amazed that Renault, in a time of crisis in 2008-or-so, decided nonetheless to push through, and still we see people see the Twizy on the stand they think it’s a concept car.

But would you have designed it differently from square one?

I’m not sure. I just think it’s amazing that it exists. As I said, it’s like putting a concept car out on the road, and it’s not perfect, but we learn from every one that we sell and every experience that we have. I hope I get to do the second generation and really do something wild with it.

There are really few cars that put a smile on your face when you see them ‒ you can’t help yourself, and when I drove it around Paris with my wife we just had so much fun because at every stop people ‒ because it’s open ‒ start chatting and taking pictures.

So what’s the story with the Zoe? It suddenly came out of nowhere, and whilst all the

other Renault ZE vehicles are quite docile the Zoe grabs your attention immediately

with its stance and surfacing. What’s the thinking behind it?

42 GCD

GCD 43

aboveLaurens’ relaxed but contemporary outlook suits the Renault brand

oppositeThe Life Cycle: Ideas and realisation (the Dezir was, unsurprisingly, Love)

You’re absolutely right, the key is that the Fluence and Kangoo already existed and are being transformed [into electric cars], which is a band-aid type of approach to a certain degree - ‘Let’s just slap an electric motor it’. I felt that the company wanted to do a proper, 100% electric car that would become a little bit what Prius is for hybrids. I think what we’d like to achieve is that if we have an image car that can pull the whole company and can really put a halo on the rest of the company - the Zoe should be it. It’s found the right balance being progressive enough that you can tell it’s not your everyday vehicle. You can buy it because it looks great, but you can also buy it ration-ally because it’s a responsible car to own.

I think with the Twizy it was truly difficult to find this balance because people think very often ‘ok now we’re doing an electric car, let’s make it look incredibly radical’, like an iPod on wheels. But if you want to appeal to a very large market, then not everybody is going to interested in that extreme statement. It’s already a step for them to accept driving electric instead of petrol or diesel, so it needed to be advanced yet acceptable. That was a very fine line.

It’s funny because traditionally the halo model has always been the fastest, the biggest or the most expensive, and now Renault have a halo model that’s simply a C-segment car which is electric, which is considerable change of tack.

I’m convinced, though, because if you look at Toyota but take away the Prius and the iQ, it becomes a benign company like anybody else. It’s on the strength of just one or two vehicles that they lift up the whole image of their brand. If you look at the role that the 500 plays for Fiat it’s just amazing, so it’s up to us to create these types of icons that really project us into the future. In the ‘50s and ‘60s cars were really a symbol of progress, and I think through the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s cars kind of lost this image of optimism and progress, and what I hope is that a car like the Zoe will show that the industry can again produce solutions that are responsible, exciting and things that you would put aside your money for and that create a positive image. I hope Zoe will do that for us in a difficult time.

44 GCD

But it has to feel right as well, as people won’t compromise on both range and comfort. Maybe one, but not both - you must have driven it?

Frankly, I was sold when I drove it, and what people don’t realise yet is the fluidity of the driving experience. The batteries are very low, the centre of gravity is perfect between the wheels, the pick-up is amazing and the torque is very good, and with the regenerative braking, you barely use the brakes ‒ it’s like driving a bumper car. You come off the accel-erator and if you’re good at anticipating then that’s all you have to do. If you then get back into a [conventional] car and it makes noise and it vibrates it suddenly seems unrefined.

Now that you’re essentially a manager, how do you manage your own creativity against what you have to deliver in terms of business?

I think what I like about this job is the ‘do all’ side of it ‒ the emotional and the rational, the hi-tech and the magic. In fact, you need a bit of magic and you need a bit of common sense. I realise that it is a business, too ‒ just making nice cars isn’t sufficient, we need to make money, too, otherwise the business will fold. I keep in mind a famous line from Raymond Loewey, “The most beautiful line is the line of a rising sales chart”, and I keep that in the back of my mind whenever we have to make trade-offs.

It is a business of passion. I don’t think you can design cars if you’re not emotionally involved in it, and so beauty goes a long way but it needs to have some substance. With Dezir, in a sense, I wanted beauty with the brain by giving you a very seductive propo-sition, but it’s got an electric engine, it’s got clever seats ‒ there’s some substance under the surface. If we can create products that have both ‒ and Zoe’s another good example ‒ I think then we start to have a winning formula. That’s what we’re focused on.

Which cars do you consider the most beautiful?

In terms of concept cars there are three, in my view. There’s the Lancia Stratos Concept, the Vel Satis Concept and the Mazda Taiki.

GCD 45

Glitz and green tech at odds with reality at China’s favourite motor show

wORDS Guy BiRD

shanghai Auto Show

The Shanghai Auto Show is always more fun than its Beijing counterpart, held every other year, because, in simple hu-man terms, in Shanghai you tend to see the sun more often.

Still horrendously foggy in a decidedly non-natural way ‒ upon our arrival at the airport the sky was a solid white colour ‒ over the whole trip, Shanghai nonetheless felt brighter, less congested and more upbeat. Pollution levels across the coun-try are still a big issue and a talking point in the local Eng-lish-speaking papers, though.

According to China Daily after a particularly smoggy winter in Beijing, the city’s municipal government has decided to bring forward a new fuel standard pilot scheme ‒ known as Beijing V ‒ similar to Europe’s Euro V standard (and China V). Getting older vehicles off the road is deemed important, too. Just under 10% of China’s vehicle parc are from the pre-China I standard but China Daily says they account for 40% of total vehicle emissions. With most of China still at ‘China III’ fuel quality level ‒ Shanghai is

China IV now and applying the China V standard by mid-year ‒ there’s tangibly still huge work to do.

Despite all these issues, the country is on course to register 21 million new vehicles this year ‒ affirming its number one world market status ‒ and the aspiration to own a car is still high, as one unnamed car designer candidly put it: “A private car ‒ even one that has to sit in a traffic jam ‒ is still preferable to the risk of contracting bird flu on the public subway system.” The huge crowds that swarmed into the massive 17-hall 2013 Auto Shanghai motorshow on its notional first ‘press’ day would seem to back up that personal anecdote, and what was on display re-vealed a cornucopia of local Chinese and global brands offering now and near-future product with 20-plus serious global unveils.

While the majority of those products were aimed at fulfilling the dream of vehicle ownership rather than green vehicle own-ership, some also showed significant eco-focused promise. Here are Green Car Design’s four favourites...

46 GCD

ShowS Shanghai

Concept: chery @ant 2.0

Production: Porsche Panamera s e-Hybrid

As the names implies, this concept is the second in a series, the pre-vious 2012 @Ant concept featuring

an unlikely but interesting pair of scis-sor-doored vehicles designed to dock with each other to form an energy-saving car-train. The 2.0 is also scissor-doored and futuristic, but altogether more assured in its execution. Better-looking than the similar-themed Renault Twizy, it also indi-cates that some local Chinese carmakers are seeking future mobility solutions as well as just meeting existing mainstream demand for saloons and SUVs.

The Panamera S E-Hybrid was arguably the most exciting eco car at Shanghai, as it show-

cases highly credible technology available to buy from autumn 2013. Turbo-boosting the brand’s eco cre-dentials at a stroke, the plug-in hy-brid arrives with the Panamera’s convincing facelift, offering 91mpg and 71g/km of CO2 (versus the old S Hybrid’s 41.5mpg and 159g/km), plus 416hp, 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds and 22 electric-only miles. This cir-ca £95k four-door now has a clear selling point over its diesel model (whose figures remain unchanged at 44.8mpg and 166g/km) and bodes well for the future of Porsche hybrid tech overall. Progress.

GCD 47

If it makes production, which seems likely, this shiny BMW X3-sized plug-in hybrid could be on sale by early 2015,

and for the first time for a DS model it could also launch in China before Eu-rope. The exterior, by Kevin Nougarede, has conventionally good-looking crosso-ver proportions ‒ there was no full inte-rior to view ‒ but the more exciting news is under the bonnet: featuring a 225hp 1.6-litre petrol engine combined with a 70hp electric motor on the rear axle to allow 31 miles in zero emissions mode and a super-low 43g/km CO2 figure. An-other smart DS model then, but no word on any aero detailing or other green-fo-cused elements, and not as striking as the DS9 concept of 2012.

Concept: citroen ds wild rubis

Low on eco info ‒ other than its un-identified hybrid powertrain ‒ and high in the silly name stakes, the

Nissan Friend-ME was nonetheless a key 2013 Shanghai show concept. The mus-cularly curvaceous exterior ticks all the boxes of Nissan’s future design thinking ‒ from the large V-shaped grille, boo-merang lights and ‘broken’ C-pillar ‒ but its interior is the sharpest part. Featur-ing a multiple-screen console stretching from the dashboard to the rear seats through which all occupants can share content from their wirelessly-connected mobile devices, it was developed by Nis-san’s new Beijing-based design studio and aimed at mid-20s Chinese males, but could equally appeal to social-media savvy customers of any age or location.

Concept: nissan Friend-me

48 GCD

wORDS/PHOTOS RiCHARD LANE

salone del mobile 2013With simple survival at stake for some, car makers are attempting to cosy up with the larger design audience

bCars don’t really belong at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milan, amongst the designers, architects, sculptors and artists at the world’s largest and most influential furniture fair. And the people who build them realize this, although

it’s something they’re keen to change. The process is quite easy in theory but, like most things, will be very difficult to pull off in reality. Engage a fresher, wider audience by having a presence outside of motor shows. Appeal to their tastes and ideals with engaging and intuitive design. When the time comes, sell them your cars.This year saw installations from Hyundai, Renault, Mazda, BMW, Citroen and MINI, who all had a considerable presence and used varying mediums to exhibit ingenuity. Some used cars, most didn’t, but they’re all trying hard to express themselves ‒ and the ideal reflection of their philosophies ‒ both outside of the automotive sphere and to a growing international audience that is sensitive to both aesthetic and ecologically sound design.

GCD 49

Salone Del mobile 2013 ShowS

renault Twin’Z Concept

This trippy little Renault is quite memorable, at least in the context of the fickle, mad-hatter world of automotive concepts. The seats are green carbon fibre frames that have germinated out of the floor, it rides on branching fluorescent

wheels with each tiny spoke ending in the eye of a needle, and Ross Lovegrove’s sinuous use of light is supreme. All combine to tell you that the Twin’Z is inspired by nature. It’s quaint - and the ‘nature’ card is wheeled out by car manufacturers with metronomic frequency - but there’s no doubt that the finished product is fascinating.It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the powertrain is entirely electric, particularly considering what a wonderfully accomplished piece of product design Renault’s in-novative ZOE is (head to page 10), but the Twin’Z is really inspired by the first-gen-eration Twingo and much loved 5 ‒ superminis that broke the mould in their day.Range is 160km whilst top speed is a convenient 130kph, and although an aesthet-ically neutered production version to hit the roads next year ‒ in both petrol and electric guise - let’s just enjoy the psychedelic original for now.Apart from the Yves Klein IKB 191 monochrome-inspired paintjob, the high-light is the PMMA-formed roofscape. 5mm thick, PMMA is already used in car headlights but its application to the roof was the hardest part of the project, according to Renault’s Vietnamese concept car project manag-er, Minh Au Truong. The same material is used on the rear light clusters. The interior has been quite brutally dematerialised, and whilst car designers have for quite some time been talking about interior simplification - we’re currently overloaded by technology and applications inside our cars ‒ it’s encouraging to see it in practice. This means that everything you might find on a conventional dashboard ‒ heating, seat adjustment, headlights etc - is neatly undertaken by a single touchscreen tablet, positioned where you might normally find a gearstick. Existing as a single, almost unbroken, entity, the interior architecture is linked by highlighted milled lines that “describe a flow of energy”, mapping out the cabins topographic forms. It’s almost in the style of the windswept sandstone formations seen in various deserts ‒ solid, but impossibly supple. With the suicide doors fully ajar, it’s a treat for the eyes.

‘The aim was to break down the boundaries between the world of an object whose callingis to be in movement– the automobile –and that of furniture.’

Laurens van den Acker

50 GCD

M INI’s intricate installation chose to explore the metamorphosis that its cars undergo from de-

sign concept to being part of someone’s life. The rather absorbing consequence is a bisected Paceman, with the ex-ploded rear components representing design and engineering whilst the ori-gami front half illustrates MINI’s posi-tion as both a lifestyle brand and part of contemporary culture.The intricacy of the ‘real’ half of the Pace-man is fairly astonishing, with a woven lattice of threads and round head pins shadowing the car and also depicting the team of super-sized designers, led by An-ders Warming, on the back wall. Thicker red cables contrast these tiny threads.MINI say that KAPOOOW! ultimate-ly narrates the birth of the Paceman. It was designed and built by Jeannette Ohlhaeuser and Thomas Wu in Munich and then transported, whole, to Milan.

12,000 translucent orbs combine to transform Hyundai’s ‘Fluidic Sculp-ture’ design language ‒ until now the

preserve of its rakish concept cars - into ‘interactive performance art’. Reminiscent of Jim Campbell’s Exploded View, where perspective and chance are all-important, Hyundai’s piece has more to it than meets the eye. In a thoroughly violet ambiance, eight lasers, which per-form on a seven-minute loop, surround the installation and the entire unit is sus-pended over a small body of water. After a light shower of simulated virtual rain, the ‘interactive’ bit happens, where the lasers illuminate different orbs in response hu-man gestures. When there’s more than a couple of people it’s not immediately ob-vious who’s doing what, but it’s all made possible by a 3D scanning system that registers body warmth and orchestrates the lasers correspondingly.

Hyundai Fluidic Sculpture in Motion

mini KAPOOOW!

GCD 51

The BMW i installation at Milan was comfortably the most abstract expression of ethos amongst the carmakers. The work of Breton designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, the idea behind Quiet Motion was to reflect the experiential side to

BMW i products ‒ so far the i3 and i8 ‒ and the sizeable structure was appropriately sited in one of the muraled cloisters belonging to the Theological Faculty of Northern Italy. Sustainability, calm and movement are themes that feature heavily, and physical inspiration comes from cogs and gears.

It’s not unusual for car companies to play the field in terms of metaphorical design projects ‒ BMW, more than most, have history with the diverse Art Car projects ‒ but what is un-usual is for them to then take a back seat. “These cooperations offer us a chance to enter into a dialogue with creatives”, acknowledges Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s Dutch head of design, but admits, “we didn’t want to force anything from them. We said ‘look at what we do, and think about something for Milan that is to do ‒ in a wider sense ‒ with BMW i’”. The resulting expression of BMW i through art is entirely of the Bouroullec brothers’ doing. “They do products, we do cars, but our mindsets are not too far apart,” says Benoit Jacob on the collaboration, whilst sitting, and slowly revolving, on one of the four

Bmw i Quiet Motion5RQDQ��(UZDQ�%RXURXOOHF̵V�DOOHJRULFDO�LQWHUSUHWDWLRQ�RI�WKH�XSFRPLQJ�%0:�L�HOHFWULF�VXE�EUDQG

52 GCD

carousels. Jacob has been head of design for BMW i design since 2010, and is acute-ly aware that cars such as the i3 can appeal to more than the traditional crowd. Step inside the i3, for example, with its sculpted panels and bench seating arrangement and it’s clear that the entire project has been heavily influenced by the world of product, and specifically furniture, design.

Aside from the cork platform, all the materials that make up the installation can are found in the i3 and i8, even down the soft, olive leaf extract-treated leather that covers the circular seating area. The roofs of the carousels are painted in the same weath-er-resistant BMW i paint used for the car’s bodywork, whilst the underside is uphol-stered in BMW i roof liner and a carbon fibre column connects the platform with the roof. Perhaps most appropriately, the entire installation is powered by silent electric motors. Cork, incidentally, is under consideration for use in cars due to its excellent acoustic and thermal management properties, says Jacob.

Due to a relatively minimalistic overall design, it’s an installation that can be easily dis-mantled and reassembled, meaning that Quiet Motion could go on tour in the future.

GCD 53

You can put a chair in a car

3DUW�RI�WKH�VHW�LQFOXGLQJ�DQ�/('�ODPS�DQG�D�ZDWFK�GHULYHG�IURP� WKH� LQVWUXPHQW� FOXVWHU� IRXQG� LQVLGH� LWV� FDUV�� )RUGőV�'HVLJQ� )XWXULQJ� 7HDP� WUDQVIHUUHG� WKH� EUDQGőV� Ő2QH� )RUGő�design policy into an elegant chair.

0DVHUDWL�DQG�0LODQHVH�IXUQLWXUH�PDNHU�=DQRWWD�partnered to build a chair that takes its form

from the new Quattroporte model and a

UHPRYDEOH�� XQWUHDWHG� OHDWKHU� FRYHULQJ� WKDWőV�inspired by racing gloves.

0D]GDőV� .2'2�� Ő6RXO� RI� 0RWLRQő� GHVLJQ�SKLORVRSK\� GLVWLOOHG� LQWR� D� FKDLU�� 'HVLJQHG�LQ� +LURVKLPD��0D]GD� VD\� WKH� FKDLU� IHDWXUHV� D�ready-to-pounce, forward-leaning stance that

conveys the sudden release of pent-up energy.

but can you put a car

in a chair?

Of the three chairs, only Maserati’s creation will see limited production, but it’s intriguing to see how car makers instil their brand DNA into what is still the ultimate form of product design

54 GCD

Cars for the 21st century: the broader design imperative

wORDS HuGO SPOwERS

Last word

Environmentally, socially and now financially we are in a bit of a pickle and we need to design our way out of it. By ‘design’ I encompass everything - systems and business

models as well as products. The auto sector is a good proxy for this wider state of affairs; with industry issues going far beyond the technology. No altruistic notions about the environment are needed to reach the conclusion that we are ripe for change in the auto sector - because it makes good business sense.

In designing appropriate systems and business models we need to eliminate all loose ends - misalignments of interests of stake-holders and waste streams, all of which reduce efficiency; every element must solve multiple problems at once, rather like a com-ponent in a Colin Chapman Lotus. All too often we resolve a problem with a solution that creates a few more problems of its own. The three strategies below are being developed at Riversim-ple and are highly interdependent. They also have a direct and very significant impact on the design of our vehicles and are of value to the personal transport sector.

Sale of service vs. sale of product. Perhaps the single greatest misalignment is in the traditional model of selling cars. Even policy makers have now grasped that we need to wring the max-imum utility out of every unit of resource we use ‒ resource ef-ficiency is our goal. However, if you sell cars you make more money by selling more cars - you are rewarded for maximising resource throughput rather than the opposite. This misalignment is not just a policy dilemma but also a busi-ness threat; resource efficiency is as central to sustaining profit as to sustaining the environment. However, if, much like mobile phone operators, manufacturers sell mobility contracts that cov-er all lifetime operating costs including fuel, the financial drivers are completely reversed. Manufacturers are then rewarded for longevity and low running costs rather than obsolescence and high running costs ‒ resource efficiency as opposed to through-put - and the formerly opposed interests of manufacturers and customers are aligned. This simultaneously reduces environ-mental impact and creates a source of competitive advantage, rather than a cost on the bottom line.The analogy to Colin Chapman’s component that performs three jobs is relevant here. It is assumed that new Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) technologies need to rival the extraordinarily low supply chain costs of conventional technologies to be competitive. How-ever, a manufacturer that sells a mobility service captures 100% of the economic benefit of efficiency - he saves money on fuel for the entire life of the vehicle. More efficient powertrains thus be-come more profitable long before the volume builds sufficiently to bring the unit cost down; in short, the Sale of Service trans-forms the early market opportunity for LCV technologies.

Closing loops. Although resource efficiency is necessary, it is not sufficient, as being less unsustainable is still not sustainable and depletion of finite resources remains a threat. Traditional linear

industrial systems extract, refine, manufacture, use and dump without any plan for getting the waste back to the beginning of the process. Cyclical systems produce no waste streams and do not require an unabated supply of raw material, further rein-forcing resilience. The Sale of Service is a natural fit with this closed loop manufacturing strategy; the asset remains on the manufacturer’s balance sheet so there is a greater incentive to design not only for maximum longevity but also for maximum recovery of value at end of life. It also future-proofs the manu-facturer against price volatility of precious commodities, such as platinum and rare earths, because they never sell them.

Open source. Different design criteria lead to different sorts of cars and thus to different standards. Ubiquitous standards are a boon to all who participate and the best way to stimulate proliferation of those standards is to give away the recipe for making money from them - by open sourcing the information about systems integration. The value in an automotive brand is in that brand (which remains proprietary), not its IP portfo-lio, and there is no conflict between open source and building a brand. This is even more true when selling mobility as a service, as there are more opportunities to differentiate; neither Hertz nor Avis feel a need to make their own cars. Such an approach respects any IP held by a supplier but the optimal approach to IP is different for different players in the value network. For River-simple, it’s a no brainer; encouraging competitors to copy is the fastest way to build volume in the supply chain, bringing down supply chain costs, and generic rather than marque-specific com-ponents allow independent organisations to contract for field support, reducing the need to develop distribution networks.

‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ is an over-used phrase but it has a sound basis in science; complex systems dis-play ‘emergent properties’, properties of the system for which there is no explanation at the level of the components of that system. Certain strategies or technologies show no economic or performance advantage in isolation but can deliver huge advan-tages as part of a system. This explains how the apparent tech-nical limitations of alternative fuel cars are an inevitable result of trying to make a step change incrementally - squeezing new technologies into existing models.

When faced with a disruptive shift, incrementalism creates bar-riers and risks whereas system level change lowers them. “You can’t cross a chasm in two leaps”.

www.riversimple.com

The business model that sustained us for decades is no longer sufficient to sustain profitability – Bill Ford in 2006

GCD 55

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green car design /review 05 london

Documents

car makers

automotive design scene

broader design imperativegcd

design crowdlast word55

online ecodesign car

electric cherry

green tech

volvo plugin hybrid