Table of contents for No. 228 in AUTO & DESIGN

Such a grille had never been seen before. The spindle grille, that huge hourglass that so unmistakably marks out Lexus models, is one of the widest in today's automotive panorama, but the one sported by the LS+ Concept at the last Tokyo Show wraps up the entire front, extending not only sideways but also upwards, to the point of rimming the front of the bonnet. “As we were dealing with a concept car, we were given free rein to try out new ideas”, explains Hiroaki Hakamata, Group Manager of Lexus Design and Exterior Lead Designer of the project, whom we met with the exterior designer Nozomi Hirai in Tokyo. The task assigned to them was ideal for exploring and proposing new stylistic solutions in the name of L-Finesse, the styling…

Fashion, art, architecture and contemporary culture all coexist in the unconventional spirit of the Volvo XC40, "a premium car, but in a different way”, as Robin Page - Senior Vice President Design Volvo Cars - likes to say. Iconic and with a strong expressive identity, it reaps the benefit of a creative process inspired by multiple sources, mostly non-automotive. “When we started imagining the XC40 - unprecedented for our range, as well as the first Volvo to use the new compact modular architecture (CMA) developed with Geely - we chose to work outside of the box, break out of the mould and create something special. A car capable of expressing our DNA and our stylistic principles through its own unique personality", says Robin Page. The project, which got underway in…

According to Audi, the new A7 Sportback "represents a new design language and fulfils the promises made with the Prologue studies". Not only that: this four-door coupé "sets new standards in the luxury segments in terms of progressiveness" and gives life to a new style of Granturismo thanks to its "dynamic lines, systematic digitisation, sporty driving experience and a versatile concept of space". Is that all? Not really. For Marc Lichte, head of Audi design, it is above all the first car that is "all his own work" (the A8 package, but not the styling, was already frozen when he took over in February 2014). “With the A7”, he explains, “we were able to exert a good measure of influence on the package too". The result clearly differentiates it from…

At a time of great attention to everything concerning food, there is growing interest in the design of kitchen utensils. The FH-Johanneum University of Applied Sciences in Graz, in collaboration with Philips Austria, has launched the "Cooking with Air" project as part of the degree programme for the third semester of the Industrial Design course. Students were asked to design a product able to process food in a sustainable manner. The focal points arising out of the topic were digital connectivity and the sustainability of the creative process. Innovative, cutting-edge ideas made the results interesting. They go from a frying pan that controls odour emissions to a device to raise children's interest in healthy food, up to the suggestion of recipes that also helps to cook them based on the…

Strolling among the stands of the 2017 Guangzhou motor show – China’s third largest in terms of visitors and participating brands, after Shanghai and Beijing – a clear dichotomy could be seen between the new production models on display and the concepts presented, revealing a distinct departure from current style in the vision for the future. It seems that Chinese designers now want to go beyond the SUV genre – which is particularly popular in China, selling even more than in Europe – and the concepts presented at the show introduce visions and forms unlike any of the prevailing trends seen in the market today. The production model debuts, seen at the show, were all based on current architectural formats. Of the six models unveiled, four were SUVs with sporty…

“Do you remember the amazement generated by the Stratos Zero, so futuristic by comparison with the other cars of the time? That is exactly how the Terzo Millennio takes its bow, like a supercar of the future just as the Stratos or the Lamborghini Countach were in their time". Mitja Borkert proudly shows the first concept car produced under his leadership since taking over the helm at Lamborghini design in 2016. He makes no mystery of the great respect he has for a maestro like Marcello Gandini, to whom, he says with a bit of emotion, he was able to present the Third Millennium in person. With its grittily intriguing forms, this design study imagines what an electrically powered Lamborghini will look like. It obviously can’t look like any old…

Comfort above all. Thanks to the exterior design of the diamond shaped cab that narrows at the rear, the Toyota Fine-Comfort Ride is able to offer exceptional passenger roominess without sacrificing aerodynamics, which dictated many of the unusual styling solutions of the body. The wheels are positioned at the four corners so that the most can be made of every single centimetre of space inside. Equipped with artificial intelligence and autonomous drive function, this concept is able to assist the driver whatever his needs. The interior design is in fact the main feature in the Fine-Comfort Ride, where everything has been designed for the comfort of every occupant. The seats can rotate, creating an ideal seating area for conversation, or recline into an armchair with footrest. The prototype, presented at…

Mitsubishi called its Tokyo Motor Show concept e-Evolution. But in reality it revealed a complete breakthrough for a long–term design language for the traditional Japanese 4-wheel drive SUV maker. With good reason, since Mitsubishi came under Nissan control in late 2016 and became a full member of the Renault-Nissan alliance in September 2017. With the result that it will be the leading alliance partner in 4-wheel drive platform development. So Tsunehiro Kunimoto, the former Nissan design veteran who joined Mitsubishi in 2014 as corporate vice president for design, was able to start off with a clean sheet. His mission was to create a new design strategy, in the case of the E-Evolution on an all-new platform with three electric motors and a large battery pack. “We started a year before…

Experience the interior of a car while trying to overcome the principle of "car stops, life starts", according to which time spent inside a car is spent passively. This is the mission of the GAC i-Space, an innovative, technologically advanced concept car presented at the 2017 Guangzhou Show. On the stand we met Zhang Fan, Vice President and head of design of the GAC group, who showed us some of the most interesting aspects of this MPV of the future. The design team defined the forms of this model by hypothesising that, in a world of rapid technological progress, young Chinese buyers expect a more interactive experience from their cars, one that moves them forward from the stylistic canons to which we are accustomed, such as excellent proportions and sculpted…

Clean surfaces, broken lines and volumes played out on the details: the most recent Bohemian styling recipe that has already been developed so effectively on the big Kodiaq, is based on the expressively solid Karoq compact crossover. “We have worked on the proportions, especially in side view”, the designers who created the project explain, “but the aesthetic orientation has not changed and no particular precautions were necessary to avoid stylistic imbalances, despite the small overall dimensions". It is mainly the three-quarter rear view that changes, with a specific C-pillar expressing a decidedly vertical, compact architecture almost completely new for the brand, influenced by the inclination of the rear window and the restrained development of the third side light. The front, on the other hand, fully preserves the visual layout with…

“It was much quicker to build a prototype ten years ago. This time it took almost twelve months”, notes Alfonso Albaisa, senior vice president of Nissan global design looking at the IMx. “Once all it took was the skill of the artisans who physically fabricated the car, in this case we had to interface closely with the engineers who developed the electric platform and the autonomous driving systems.” The goal of the project was to create an appealing and functional structure around a working, albeit futuristic, mechanical base, while exploring all the new potential for expression that this has to offer. The cabin has been maximised in terms of both horizontal space and usability. “We designers can sometimes be a little wheel-house-centric – quips Albaisa – because we focus on…

Light commercial vehicle or Suv? Judging by the lines that make up the Toyota Tj Cruiser, world premiered at the 2017 Tokyo Show, you might say a little bit of both. Surfaces are clean, and the squared off volumes do not lie about the function of this concept. The vehicle comes with a rectangular shaped cab, sturdy suspension and 20 inch wheels, and exploits the next-generation TNGA platform. The interior design has also been designed for maximum practicality. Sliding doors allow objects to be loaded and unloaded from the sides while facilitating the entry and exit of occupants. "Practical" materials with a special coating to withstand scratches and dirt were used for the hood, roof and bumpers. Several anchorage points have been added to the luggage compartment to facilitate the…

“If you caught a glimpse of it shooting by on the other side of the block, this is all you’d need to recognise it”, smiles Peter Schreyer, head of design for the Hyundai and Kia brands, observing the two-tone pattern formed at the intersection of roof, rear-view mirrors and pillars of a Stonic on display a few metres from the place where the interview is being held. “We developed this colour scheme on purpose to give the car a standout feature, a visual structure that makes it immediately recognisable", explains the designer. This is not the only creative cue capable of discreetly increasing the formal thickness of the body: another eye-catcher is the unusual matte moulding that creates a pattern in correspondence with the rear door, outlining a step "of…