Table of contents for No. 214 in AUTO & DESIGN

“The new Megane is important for us because it represents a bridge between the more compact Clio and Captur and the bigger Talisman and Espace. Moving up the range you have to encounter a car you love and a car you respect along the way: the Megane is in the middle of this transition”. There is satisfaction in Laurens van den Acker’s eyes as he looks at the new Megane which he previewed to us two months from its debut at the Frankfurt show. The new segment C hatch is part of the conceptual and aesthetic path van den Acker mapped out on his arrival at the head of Renault design in 2009, introduced with the DeZir concept car which originated the new brand styling cues, starting with the Clio.…

The stated objective was to “give a shock” to the Suv and crossover B segment, one of the fastest growing in the market. To succeed with the CX-3, Mazda designers and engineers played on two levels: styling, with the umpteenth application of Kodo philosophy (the “soul of motion” in Japanese) because – Youichi Matsuda says – “we don’t like seeing a car as just a block of metal, we prefer to handle it as if it were a living thing”; and Skyactiv technology, so that we have exceptional dynamic performance, sports car handling but fuel consumption at the level of hybrids; not to speak of electronics (infotainment and safety) rarely developed at this level on a segment B car. Matsuda is the chief designer who in four years brought the…

Original but an anthology of Suzuki Suv tradition at the same time. That’s how the new Vitara takes its bow. Some of it we already knew about after it was previewed by the iV-4 concept-teaser unveiled at Frankfurt 2013 where we had met Takehito Arai, chief designer of the project (concept and final vehicle) and responsible for the external design. “The brief called for a new model to extend our Suv range, which goes from the Jimny to the Grand Vitara, but with the strong brand heritage in 4x4’s”, explains Arai who mentions among traditional elements the Jimny grille’s five vertical slats, the Grand Vitara’s wrapround bonnet and the blisters that bolster the mudguards borrowed from the first Vitara, all cues we have, however, handled in an original, modern way”.…

Passion and design create situations in which tradition and innovation intertwine and as a result of which Italian-made goods mean quality worldwide. Sanlorenzo, the luxury yacht brand based in Viareggio, set up in 1958, is all this and today is eyeing the future from a different perspective, that of Chris Bangle and his team. For the next 10 years they will be responsible for product development strategy and external design for future boats. "Our agreement with Chris Bangle goes beyond design pure and simple. Working with him we want to distill our design criteria, our brand dna, and then apply it to new product ranges", explains Ferruccio Rossi, Sanlorenzo's General Manager. "Boats are the last bastion of true freedom, they are the expression of the owner, pure lifestyle", says Bangle.…

Separate the appearance of the cabin from the bodywork, eliminate visibility constraints to create cars with “outrageous” forms, leaving free rein to the car designer’s fantasy. And why not, develop interiors where the structures are “transparent”. Virtually speaking, of course. That is what augmented reality technologies, flexible displays and videocameras can do. Quite, because a car “with eyes” can see the outside world and visualise it on board in innovative ways. For example, Jaguar Land Rover are looking at the idea of a virtual bonnet. Imagine yourself sitting in a big off-roader like a Range Rover with an endless nose and you have no idea what your wheels will find beyond the hump, on the other side of the embankment. And yet thanks to new generation technologies a real image…

The Ferrari 488 GTB is the successor to the 458 Italia, and its name pays homage to the 308 GTB, the progenitor of the two-seater rear mid-engined V8 family presented all of forty years ago. But the 488 also ushers in a new development evocative of today’s F1, with two turbos – and related ancillaries – used for the first time to boost the power of the V8 to 670 hp. The new car posed an exciting challenge for the Centro Stile headed by Flavio Manzoni: to create an all-new Ferrari echoing the 458 in architecture, but incorporating evolved technical content to become an intrinsically sculptural and artistic iconic new model. Yet again, the creation of such a high-tech Ferrari was only possible through complete symbiosis with the engineers: and…

Forms switching from concave to convex, elegant lines and dynamic strength: it isn’t easy to play around with the volumes of a car, especially a car as traditional as the saloon. It is exactly this that most meets the eye when we examine the polished lines and attention to detail of the third generation of the Superb, offspring of the Skoda design “revolution” that kicked off at the Geneva Show of 2014 with the Vision C concept. It’s the proportions of the Superb that strike you first: based on the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, the car is bigger than the previous model and offers more room on board although, even in the narrowest streets, it is still manoeuvrable and easy to drive. “The revolutionised Superb is a saloon that oozes…

In Barcelona they talk of “Leonisation” in the sense that the new Ibiza, like virtually all Seat’s future production, has come under the spell of the León, whose success among medium-sized vehicles could not fail to influence the brand’s other segments. Carry on in the tracks of the León then, above all as regards interiors and infotainment because the externals, albeit still in the same new groove, have only been partially modified. “This vehicle,” explains Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos,”keeps its stylistic value over the long term because it is well proportioned, timeless. The externals therefore had no need of any great changes. Where the Ibiza was weak was in the interiors and those we have completely renewed”. Mesonero-Romanos is the Spanish manufacturer’s design chief and his analysis of the woes of the…

Wellness is a very fashionable neologism in the automotive world. Everybody wants wellness which, after all, is just wellbeing in old money, that feeling of physical and mental relaxation in stark contrast to stress. It is a highly subjective concept but the leading carmakers think that’s the next frontier. And at Volvo, after crossing the line first in safety and reliability (two concepts, by the way, that contribute to “feeling well” in a car) they believe that the goal of wellness is also a must for a carmaker that “has always designed cars with users in mind”. It is the concept Robin Page, head of interiors for the Swedish manufacturer, uses to address this theme which is so vague it eludes any kind of mathematical formula. “First of all”, he…

In the constantly evolving world of transport vehicle profitability depends on the ability to respond to mission diversity and meet the needs of professional drivers. It was on this basis that Iveco developed its new generation Eurocargo which is brought to us in a wide range of variants. About eighteen months work went into developing this medium truck which is positioned between the lightweight New Daily and the heavy Stralis, and benefits from all the experience gained with these models. As Marco Armigliato, Iveco design chief, explains, the Eurocargo is a much acclaimed model and the present development takes place at a time in which the world of medium vehicles is getting closer and closer to the needs of urban transport. “This is why”, explains David Wilkie, head of CNH…

Few cars are as immediately recognisable as the Ford Mustang convertible. The vehicle is the embodiment of freedom and the open road; it’s a model whose history and lineage span more than 50 years; it’s a symbol of America. Conceived and built from the ground up in tandem with the Mustang coupe design development programme, the convertible – the only open-top car in the entire Ford lineup – has adopted a few bespoke revisions to the coupe as well as a host of improvements over its predecessor. “From the start, we committed to giving Mustang convertible a unique look from the fastback with the clean, cohesive design it deserved,” says Joel Piaskowski, exterior design director at the time of the Mustang development. “From the raised and straightened muscle line on…

Renault design chief Laurens van den Acker talks in terms of a language that is “both fluid and athletic, which breaks away from the usual styling choices for this segment”. With the Kadjar, he says, the French carmaker “introduces verve and emotion to the crossover universe”. Renault exterior design director Anthony Lo concurs, calling it a precise language “ideal for a car that has to be simple, sensual and muscular all at the same time”. Bold assertions for a carmaker in an automotive world that is continuously seeking out new formulas. And in the C segment, as in this case, this means formulas that fuse at times contrasting characteristics and goals, such as dynamism, strength and spirit of adventure, to define a new spirit for the cross between SUV, sedan…

Fantastic creatures riding flame-coloured turbines, futuristic horizons, supercars with bodies in adherent technical fabric, but also self-driving cars, hybrid engines, refined interiors and user orientation. These are just some of the original creative ideas offered by students in the seventh edition of the Master course in Transportation and Automotive Design of Politecnico di Milano within the context of the firmly established partnership between the institution and the Volkswagen group. The projects, three for Bugatti (including the spectacular “La Batârde”, the model of which was done in rapid prototyping in cooperation with Skorpion Engineering) and three for Audi, respond to the theme: “Space in motion” and were carried out with great attention to content and the quality of the artwork. The broad freedom inherent in the theme generated a wide variety…

The Royal College of Art Vehicle Design programme is always a haven for highly conceptual work, as befitting an MA level course. With 27 students on this year’s course, the UK’s premier Vehicle Design programme has grown considerably over the last few years, welcoming students from as far away as China and Korea. With designers coming from local and international design studios from Europe and beyond to view the resulting work of the graduating class, the students enrolled in the preeminent automotive design course have a great deal of pressure, but also a lot of opportunity. This year’s graduates showcased a number of projects, ranging from proposals for autonomous vehicles – a burgeoning trend amongst student work these days – to a flat pack car for rural areas. Other projects…