Table of contents for No. 195 in AUTO & DESIGN

Making a vehicle instantly identifiable as belonging to the brand is a fundamental aspect of any good design. So with the large number of constraints they inevitably pose designers, it is no surprise that joint projects between different brands are always very challenging. The Vélizy design centre – the creative hub of the PSA Group – is particularly familiar with these difficulties, and it was here that the new Citroën C4 Aircross crossover (and, in parallel, the Peugeot 4008), based on the Mitsubishi ASX, was defined. This is not the first time the group has worked with Mitsubishi, as the small Citroën C0 and Peugeot iOn electric models are in effect simply rebadged versions of the I-Miev, while the C-Crosser and 4007 SUVs are derived from the Outlander. The sense…

“You know how designers visualise cars in their sketches, with decisive lines, a low roof-line, high waistline and big wheels? Well our new A-Class is just like that.” Mercedes-Benz design chief Gorden Wagener uses this image to express the character of the all-new hatchback from the three-pointed star, whose finished looks seem transposed directly from a sketch, with all the originality and creative intensity intact. The most radical change over the previous generations of the A-Class is, obviously, the architecture, which has transformed from an MPV to an overtly sporty hatchback standing a full 18 cm lower. “We know that we now have a very competitive model for the C premium segment” continues Wagener, who we met at Geneva during the car’s debut. He is of course alluding to the…

Versatility is one of those features that can make the difference when weighing up whether to buy a car, especially when it is a young family making the decision, and the Ford brand had this firmly in mind when investing in this project. With the B-Max – presented at Geneva and reaching the market in the autumn – the American manufacturer is putting its money on a roomy, flexible car of coherent design that introduces an original novelty to the world car scene: the absence of the centre pillar in favour of cabin access of fully 150 cm. So no more acrobatics when fitting the infant seat in the rear. “The B-Max is an innovative car that speaks the language of kinetic design and offers young families a new outlook…

Emblazoned on the tank are the words ‘the record-breaking brand’, and this is as true today as ever. 75 years since its birth, after it won races on numerous circuits and after bringing home the European Championship in 1939 with Dorino Serafini, the Gilera Rondine dominated the second edition of the ‘Motorcycle Competition and Exhibition’ organised as part of the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance. Not only did the Rondine come first in its class, but it also won the prestigious BMW Group ‘Best of Show’ Trophy. This victory is all the more significant considering the overall quality of the field, with the motorcycles taking part matching the superlative standards of the first edition. This made choosing the winner a particularly tough job for the panel of judges, which was made…

There has always been something particularly attractive about the agricultural tractor and over the years models have become more and more refined and increasingly able to offer users the maximum profitability, top safety, and comfort and style on a par with developments in the automotive sector. From this standpoint the new 240- and 260-hp engined Same Deutz-Fahr Agrotron TTV, the design of which carries the signature of Italdesign Giugiaro, puts out a very strong message. The two companies had worked together from the end of the ‘80s developing among others the Rubin model, presented in 1998 and later elected “Tractor of the year”. “This new project”, explains Fabrizio Giugiaro, head of the Giugiaro-Italdesign Style Centre, “got underway in autumn 2010. The Same Deutz-Fahr group needed to redefine the styling cues…

There are approximately a billion cars on the roads today, subdivided into around ten thousand models. But only a very small handful of these can truly be called icons. The Mercedes-Benz SL is undoubtedly one of these – the roadster conceived sixty years ago by Maximilian Edwin Hoffman (the first 300 SL was launched in 1952) which has now spawned an entire range targeting an increasingly larger public and consisting of the SLK, SL and SLS AMG, with prices ranging from 40 to 202 thousand Euros. The common theme throughout this family is the use of lightweight materials (the new models now weigh up to 170 Kg less than the previous generation), sophisticated engineering and technology, superlative comfort, premium features and an emotive style with more than a hint of…

A prestigious new contender has joined the four-door coupé arena. With this formula, the question is always whether to put the emphasis on the coupé side (such as the Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide), or to create something closer to a sedan (like the Mercedes CLS), and for market reasons, the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé takes the latter route, adding to a category that is fast becoming a new segment in its own right. “It was an almost obvious choice for us to develop this sector”, explains Adrian van Hooydonk. “The 6 Series, which is now in its third generation, has already explored the coupé and convertible genres, and was mature enough for this next step. We thought that it would be very interesting to extend the range…

“Deeply rooted in the identity of Fiat, there’s a predisposition for invention and to create projects that promote genuine innovation” begins Fiat design director Roberto Giolito, as he explains the factors leading to the realisation of the 500L. While an entirely new model in the range, the 500L carries on the legacy of historic forebears such as the Topolino, 600 Multipla, Nuova 500 (from 1957) and the Panda. These were cars for the people, made to measure to the needs of their occupants, and they inspired Giolito and his team to develop the ‘L zero’ project for a B segment MPV in a very contemporary ‘open source’ approach. “The 500L is a car that catalyses unexpected new sensations and gives shape to them in an organic design, and in a…

Magna Steyr, the global applied automotive engineering giant, continues its series of high-tech show cars by adding a sixth member to the Mila family. After the compact, methanepowered Aerolight presented in 2011, the theme explored this time is a five-seater mid-sized SUV conceived and developed with the motto “be unusual”. Its name, Coupic, embodies the philosophy of a vehicle that can be interpreted as an SUV-coupé, a cabriolet, or even a two-seat pick-up. “This concept – explains Chief Designer Andreas Wolfsgruber – showcases the ability of Magna Steyr to create feasible concepts that combine style with technical innovation. The car was developed in our Graz centre in Austria, by a team headed by Christoph Aschaber and Tim Doherty.” Curiously, rather than the automotive world, inspiration for the concept came from…

The didactic partnership between the Scuola Politecnica di Design and Volkswagen Group Design continues to everyone’s mutual satisfaction. The university master course it involves this year addresses the theme of electric mobility applied to urban micro-mobility. The city of Milan with its wealth of environments available for analysis, and Expo 2015, are the scenarios chosen to put the proposals into context. The idea is to offer tourists a versatile vehicle capable of meeting their need for freedom and speed of movement by means of new car sharing and car rental formulas with only one limit imposed by the project, 3 metres total length. So the undisputed protagonists are microcars and supercompacts. The designers Andrea Zapatinas and Paolo Granelli form the teaching staff coordinating the project which, by November, will lead…

Part hatchback, part coupé and part station wagon, and with an obsession for safety in keeping with Volvo tradition. This is the new Volvo V40, a compact 5-door model at his debut in the “Chinese age”. The typology (4.37 metres in length) created for the premium sector of the C segment, places it in direct competition with the Audi A3, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, BMW 1 Series, and Mercedes A Class. The design project involved all of Volvo’s design centres worldwide, and produced an elegant and dynamic car which combines the brand’s familiar cues with distinctly personal elements. Among the former are the sculpted nose and prominently bulged bonnet, the grille and the tailgate with its generously sized rear window (which is reminiscent of the C30), while the latter include the…

If the future of the car is China, then this explains why Citroën waited for the Beijing motor show to present one of its most intriguing cars of the past few years. The Numéro 9 is, for now, a concept for a shooting brake, but nobody is hiding the fact that it could, in the near future, become the French brand’s ace card in the now wellestablished Asian market. What’s more, it more clearly defines the parameters for – and gives a distinct face to – the split within the range between the DS family, which is still under the stylistic guidance of Thierry Metroz, and the C, which is now the responsibility of Alexandre Malval (who previously headed the design projects for the DS5 and C5). As Metroz explains…

Created from a rib taken from the 911, the Boxster embarks on its third generation with a declaration of independence that is not only a demonstration of the model’s maturity, but also and most importantly, of its clear-cut position in the Porsche universe. “We wanted to give it a new personality, so it had to become more different from the 911”, explains Michael Mauer. “These differences can be seen in the shape of the headlights, the flanks with large air intakes declaring a mid-engined layout, but also in its design language. The Boxster represents the entrance to the Porsche world, so we could be more progressive in terms of style, using it as a test bed for new elements. As a result, it is a more grown-up, mature car, with…

At Hyundai, one of the world’s most ambitious and fast growing car makers, even evolution develops at a revolutionary pace. Just over two years ago, the brand presented its European-designed i-flow concept for a medium-size sedan and wagon which hit production stage within a year as the i40 model. But now, again at the Geneva auto show, Hyundai already showed a further development of the i-flow philosophy. And in line with today’s technological progress, this new i-oniq style was part of an overall package which included full-electric propulsion with range extender. Thomas Buerkle, Hyundai’s European head of design based in Frankfurt, Germany, makes clear that i-oniq is an evolution of his earlier fluid sculpture form language which was characterised by outspoken graphics. “The original 3-dimensional effect has been retained, but…

The challenge, imposed by the latest market trends, was to transform a large premium saloon into a station wagon without stripping it of its dynamic elegance and of the sports-luxury spirit that has always defined the marque. “It’s a transformation – explains Ian Callum – which increases the visual mass of the tail, and this is the exact opposite of what you want in a car with a sporty character. But the exercise was a success, and our alchemy worked.” Jaguar design director Callum explains how the new XF Sportbrake (even its name reveals the genre-crossing nature of its inception, as it is neither an estate, nor a sportwagon, nor even a shooting brake) was saved by eliminating the C-pillar and visually wrapping the entire tail in a single strip…

The Milan Design Week has now become a fixture in the calendars of the world’s leading carmakers, and with each edition, we are becoming accustomed to seeing more and more events such as those described here. Anyone making their way to the courtyard of the historic Palazzo Clerici could not have failed to notice the futuristic looks of the Audi R18 race car (the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2011), exhibited alongside the prototype for the chair created by the designers Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram using the same low weight, high performance materials as the car. Both the chair and the car are ultra light and offer a glimpse of a future in which material technology will play an increasingly prominent role (the designers were…

Style and quality are the two overriding characteristics of the second generation of Kia’s C-segment Cee’d, a car that continues the legacy of a landmark model for the Korean carmaker. The Cee’d was in fact the first Kia designed and built entirely in Europe – at Frankfurt and Zilina – and was largely responsible for paving the way for the development of new models for the brand. The new Cee’d debuts as a five door hatchback, which will be joined by the Sporty Wagon estate in Autumn and, later, by a 3-door variant. The trim levels offered are Active, Cool, Class and Platinum, with a choice of petrol (1.4/100 bhp and 1.6 direct injection/135 bhp) and turbodiesel (1.4/90 bhp, 1.6/110 bhp and 1.6/128 bhp) engines mated to six-speed manual and…