Table of contents for No. 251 in AUTO & DESIGN

It's not an SUV, it's not a crossover, it's not a family car and it's not even an MPV: "The Dacia Jogger combines all the best features of these four architectures: it's elevated, it has a big boot, seven seats and an adventurous look". David Durand, head of exterior design at Dacia, talks about the brand's latest model starting with its modularity. "Every aspect of its styling is designed to make the best possible use of the interior space, while for the exterior look we wanted to convey the Jogger's fun, leisure-oriented spirit", says Durand, whom we met at IAA Mobility in Munich. Due for release in early 2022, the Jogger is Dacia's Swiss army knife, replacing three models, the Logan, the Dokker and the Lodgy MPV, in one go.…

Sporty, eye-catching, extreme. It's not often that these three adjectives are used to describe a small car, but when the Cupra brand stands out on the bonnet, anything is possible. «The UrbanRebel is a concept car that looks like something out of a racing video game and shows a radical interpretation of an urban electric car», says Jorge Diez, who was appointed head of design at Seat and Cupra in November 2020 and whom we met at the IAA show in Munich. The smallest of the Cupras will arrive in 2025, and will be based on the Volkswagen Group's MEB platform and could be a sporty, peppery competitor to its Volkswagen ID. Life cousin (design story on page 32). The UrbanRebel is the first concept car to be designed by…

In pointing out to Mark Adams, Opel's head of design since 2002, that the sixth-generation Astra has strong, energetic lines, he immediately replies: «That's true, but they are also very clean». And he wraps this expression with an entirely Germanic taste, far removed from the subtle minimalism of certain competitor proposals. Here, the economy of the elements («We didn't want any hint of overdesign ») also achieves their greater incisiveness: «The car is crossed by a few lines that give it a strong visual framework, from all angles. On the sides, for example, a curve just below the beltline fades into the wheel arches and creates a well-thought-out texture. Everyone notices the Vizor, our new radiator grille, but the overall impact is the result of much more complex work. In…

"The Group is undergoing profound transformation, and on this journey towards electrification and digitalisation the core values of our brands have to be reinvented to a certain degree". Klaus Zyciora is doing the talking and the Group in question is of course Volkswagen, where he is head of design. We are at the Munich Motor Show and the ID. Life has just been unveiled. "The key value for the Volkswagen brand has always been the democratisation of mobility. This opportunity must now also be offered with our electric cars and by making all the most functional digital technologies accessible to the general public. The ID. family aims to cover all transport needs, from the ID. Buzz with its high load capacity to the ID. 5, a more emotional SUV-coupé, to…

"I love coming here to Villa d'Este, walking among the vintage cars and discovering details I didn't know yet. It's a celebration of design". For Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, the Concorso d’Eleganza that takes place every year on the shores of Lake Como is an unmissable event. "It is admirable what designers and engineers were able to do in their time, solving technical problems, perhaps with few means. It has happened in every period of history. And now we're living in a time of profound change for mobility, the evolution is going to be very fast". This is why the BMW Group, a partner of the event for many years, inaugurated the 2021 edition of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa D'Este by bringing together its Vision iNext,…

Auto&Design and Alcantara have selected the ten finalists of the competition "Dress Your Vision - Alcantara is on board", an online competition open to transportation design students and car design enthusiasts. The young creative artists were invited to devise design proposals for future mobility using the Alcantara material in an innovative way. The projects of the ten finalists will now be evaluated by eight highly qualified jury members: Andrea Boragno, Chairman and CEO of Alcantara, Silvia Baruffaldi, Editor of Auto&Design, Domitilla Dardi, Maxxi Design Curator, Alec Ishihara, Principal (Color Materials) & UX Designer Microsoft, Manuele Amprimo, Chief Interior Design C&T and HMI Lamborghini, Annette Baumeister, Head C&T BMW, Rossella Guasco, Color&Material Design Stellantis and François Farion Design Director, Colors and Materials Groupe Renault. The winning project will be announced on…

He had frozen the Genesis GV60 project at the end of summer 2019, now he is back and finds it in production: the forced pause of Luc Donckerwolke does not seem to have left any marks. Already head of design for the entire Hyundai Group, he decided "for serious health reasons" to resign ("I could no longer travel like a spinning top"); except, when things got better, to be invited by the president of the Korean company to return (November 2020) not only with a supervisory task (Chief Creative Officer) to coordinate the design of the various brands of the Group, where SangYup Lee had inherited the position of head of design, but specifically to look after the Genesis brand. Not only for design, but also as Chief Brand Officer:…

Past, present and future met up on the Renault stand at IAA Mobility 2021, giving the French maker a chance to present its new Mégane ETech Electric and allow the public a view of the R5 Concept alongside its precursor, the Renault 5 from the 1970s. But it wasn't just the cars that were making their debut: at the German show we also caught up with Gilles Vidal who was attending a public event for the first time as Renault's head of design, although his actual appointment dates back to November 2020. When Vidal took over the helm at Renault design, the Mégane ETech Electric was just about finished, but that didn't stop him from adding some personal tweaks to the model. "Most of our focus was on personalising the…

The evolution of the motor car doesn’t just mean electrification. It also includes an innovative approach to design. According to Josef Kaban, Volkswagen design chief, this was the key message that the ID. Life concept car sought to convey at the IAA, the Munich mobility show where it debuted last September. "What I like best about this car is its attitude. It has character and marks a change in mindset, but it doesn't break with Volkswagen's tradition of high-quality products”. As the family of new ID electric cars expands upwards (after the ID.3 and ID.4, the ID.5 was shown in Munich, albeit still camouflaged), preparations are also being made to extend the range down into more compact dimensions. The ID. Life shows how it might well take the form of…

A statement of intent that looks to the future in a bold design language and a seductive ruby-coloured livery. The MG Cyberster, a two-seater 100% electric spider concept, was spawned by the synergy between the two Saic advanced design centres in Shanghai and London. The result is a futuristic vision responding to the criteria of "Energetic Romanticism", the Chinese brand's new design philosophy. And this car is the expression of an aesthetic-formal manifesto based on the evolving concept of emotional dynamism that has guided the make's projects to date. "We want MG customers to have a sort of emotional connection with our brand and this car is meant to represent that connection", says Carl Gotham, Advanced Design Director at Saic's London style centre. "It's not a means of getting from…

Surprising, eye-catching, undeniably captivating: the Microlino prototype that appeared in Milan during the eagerly awaited and liberating post-pandemic Design Week struck a chord with beholders and prompted them to question the future of cities, just like its counterparts on display at the Munich Motor Show at the same time in early September. The bodywork bears a name that has been popping out of the trade press pages since 2015, but in the meantime everything has changed, even the structural texture of the project. “The current Microlino shares almost nothing with the initial proposals, starting with the way it is built”, confirms Davide Cannata, design manager at Icona, a Turin-based company set up ten years ago and entrusted with its redesign, after a setback in the collaboration between Swiss company Micro,…