Innehållsförteckning för No. 194 från AUTO & DESIGN

Initially seen as just ‘other Asian brands’, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia have now decidedly established themselves as Korean with an authentically international dimension. This is in short the difference between Hyundai and Kia and the Japanese brands which still rely on their own design principles, but adapt them to regional tastes. Hyundai’s and Kia’s are recognisable all over the world as Korean cars with brand-exclusive features like uniform grille themes, yet with individual model product design. And most, if not all the credit for this strong aesthetic presence is due to a strategy which is built on European design talent and knowledge. Which in some respects dates back to Hyundai’s origins. A few years after its foundation in 1967, the Hyundai Motor Company hired former British Leyland chief George…

The Audi A3 marks the debut of the new ‘MQB’ which will underpin all transverse-engined Volkswagen Group models with the exception of the up!, opening up new possibilities for economies of scale, quality and alternative drivetrains. One of the goals for the immediate and short term future of the automobile is to optimise design and production costs, together with the use of increasingly more efficient engines, alternative energy sources and the development of zero emissions concepts for mobility. The Volkswagen Group has made a major step forward in this direction with the MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten), an all-new flexible architecture platform for its transverse-engined products. MQB joins the longitudinal-engined MLB platform developed by Audi, the modular MSB sports platform created together with the Porsche engineering centre, and the compact (A segment)…

3 Series. Whatever part of the world you happen to be in, Adrian van Hooydonk says in his coolheaded analysis, it is recognisable the moment you see it on the road. He is talking about the BMW flagship, the bread and butter of the Bavarian manufacturer, the core model around which all their other models are built: “The heart of our brand”, the design chief states with conviction. “That’s why no mistakes are permitted with the 3 Series: every move has to be made with the caution necessary not to betray its historical significance. But we also have to keep up with the times, offer a product that is forever new without giving up on styling cues that are traditional or may even be outdated, but which have made BMW…

At Geneva the opinion polls crowned it most beautiful concept car in the Show but Pininfarina’s Cambiano (subject of Auto & Design no. 193 Cover story) is a project that goes beyond stylistic factors. It is therefore interesting to learn more about its technical features from Andrea Benedetto, Vice President Product and Process Development at Pininfarina, who worked hand in hand with Fabio Filippini, Head of Design, right from the early concept phase. “We first defined an innovative package of moderate height and no central tunnel to respond to the decision to develop a big saloon-coupé with a large cabin”, Benedetto explains, “at the same time respecting the need to obtain an ecologically sustainable car”. Hence the choice of a hybrid, plug-in power plant using two technologies which is currently…

At Subaru motor show stands, cars are often shown from an unusual perspective, either turned upside down or stood on end to reveal mechanical parts that would otherwise have been hidden by the bodywork. This is because for Subaru – the automotive division of Fuji Heavy Industries – the mechanicals have always come first. This philosophy has become the brand’s greatest strength, and the 4x4 drive, boxer engines and superb dynamics of the cars with the Pleiades star cluster on their badges have always been compelling selling points that far outweigh style. But things are changing now. The most recent models presented by the brand show signs of an evolution in design language towards more carefully studied forms and surfaces. As the brand celebrates the 40th anniversary of its Symmetrical…

Quality, styling, efficiency. These are the guiding principles that inspired Hyundai in the development of its 130 new generation with which the Korean manufacturer is renewing its presence in segment C. The basic themes of the version that debuted in 2007, like the two box formula, interior space and versatility have been retained. But an authentic fine-tuning job was needed to deliver a product that is even more attractive and globally competitive than before. The new 130 was created, designed and developed at the HMETC of Rüsselsheim (Germany) and is produced at Nosovice, elected best plant in the Czech Republic in 2011. Compared to the previous model it is longer, wider and lower at 4300 1780 and 1470 mm. Added to the broader treads and the styling definition inspired by…

Elegance and dynamism tending towards sportiness are the themes that mark the styling of the Mercedes E Class Model Year 2012. This construction series has always been the German manufacturer’s cornerstone as can be evinced from the more than 10 million units sold since 1953; it was also the first to introduce the ‘family’ concept and today offers Saloon, Station Wagon, Coupé and Cabriolet variations. All feature the twin-blade grille (clearly of varying dimensions), the four redesigned headlights, the revisited bumpers which accentuate the width of the car, the rear Led horizontal lighting clusters, the particular execution of the side panelling which reinterprets the ‘historical’ wrap-round shape of the wings. And everything fits into the context of Mercedes’ present-day styling identity with clear-cut lines and a constant alternation between con-cave…

In Geneva this spring there was an air of optimism — slightly forced, but quite real — on the part of both motor industry executives and the usually skeptical motor journalists. The problems are not quite so intimidating as they were in the recent past, but they do exist, and will have to be attacked with a great deal more vigor and even force than is now the case, or there will be some serious casualties. Basically, people are not buying as many cars in Europe as they did in the past, those who are buying are often moving down-market to smaller and cheaper and less-polluting models. That means that there is a great amount of expensive production capability that is not being used, and may never again be used.…

Renault clearly believes in the future of the electric car. After the ZE versions of the Kangoo and Fluence, and the Twizy quadricycle aimed to appeal mainly to youngsters, comes the Zoe. This is the French brand’s first model created solely with electric power in mind, and – alongside the Clio which will be presented this September at Paris – shows the new design direction followed by the Régie under the guidance of Laurens van den Acker, whose flair for imaginative design was demonstrated by his excellent work during his six years spent with Mazda before coming to Renault two years ago. Van den Acker eagerly awaits the launch of the Clio, his first production car for Renault. “Because when I came to Renault in 2009”, he explains with refreshing…

Roofless and with a three-box profile, this is unlike any Mini you’ve seen before. The Roadster – the sixth member of the family – explores a whole new genre for the brand yet, as design director Anders Warming explains, exudes Britishness: “It’s the first car of its kind in Mini history, but in England in the 1950’s and 60’s, there were many different four-cylinder, two-seater small road-sters with a classic manual soft-top”. Like all Minis with the exception of the Countryman, which is built by Magna in Austria, the Roadster is produced in Oxford in the UK. While heritage plays an important part in Mini DNA, it’s not the only distinctive aspect of the Roadster: “It’s the package that’s particularly interesting, and the design went hand in hand with a…

With more than a million units sold in 70 different countries since 2009, the Cruze has amply confirmed its status as Chevrolet’s biggest success and now makes a decisive move on the European market with the new Station Wagon variant – expected in Italy by the summer – which takes its place alongside the saloon and hatchback. A strategic decision considering that in the C segment this model belongs to the “family car” formula currently covers 90% of demand. 4675 mm long (4510 and 4597 mm for hatch-back and saloon) the Station Wagon offers muscular, dynamic (the Cx is 0.34) styling with sloping tailgate surmounted by a spoiler, a tapering single-arch roofline, rear pillars that rest on the side ribbing emphasising the width of the shoulders and the upward course…

Homogeneity is one of the watchwords describing the state of the consumer market in recent years. Whether perceived or real, the recession has had the effect of causing many companies to resort to uniformity and reassuring aesthetics and genres for their products. These are companies that have made safe business choices, only to realise that the true leaders are those for whom research, innovation and strong identity are priorities. This is because, contrary to what instinct would tell you, it is becoming increasingly clear that “the market generates the supply, not the demand”. The oft-cited Apple case (which, as often as it is cited, is still not fully understood in terms of the significance it holds for design) is confirmation of this. What was an ultra-niche company a few decades…

You’d be wrong in thinking that immense power (740 bhp from 6262 cc), mind-bending speed (top speed 340 Km/h) and necksnapping acceleration (0-100 Km/h in 3.1 seconds and 0-200 in just 8.5) were all that the F12berlinetta – which succeeds the 599 Fiorano to begin a new chapter in Ferrari’s front-engined V12 lineage – had to offer. In reality, Maranello’s new flagship, which took shape in the Ferrari Centro Stile in close collaboration with Pininfarina, is a triumph of design following function, with style a mere consequence of engineering rather than – as is often the case – the centre of attention. The front, flanks and tail are all crucial functional elements of what Maranello calls “the most powerful, highest performance road Ferrari ever made”. And if these functional forms…

In 1947, a small GT car – the 202 conceived by Cisitalia founder Piero Dusio – burst onto the world scene. It was an unexpected, astonishing success, and even Henry Ford called it the most beautiful Italian car he’d ever seen. But, as sadly happens with so many icons overwhelmed by their own meteoric success, the Cisitalia marque was short lived, and disappeared in 1963. Almost half a century later, the name 202 made a return to the global stage at the Geneva Motor Show, with the letter “E” tacked onto the end to symbolise its evolutionary vocation. This car is a modern reinterpretation of its predecessor, created by a team of young students under the guidance of the professional designers Luca Borgogno (Pininfarina) and Luigi Giampaolo (Maserati). The design…

By definition this isn’t a motor car but a quad bike and the fact is its direct rivals are scooters – particularly the three-wheelers – and microcars. The Twizy, Renault’s two tandem seat electric vehicle, is above all entertaining, not least because of its architecture, but it is also incredibly comfortable and competitive. It drives like a car but occupies even less space than a Smart (it is just 2.34 m long) and just a little more than a Piaggio Mp3, but to be a real car it would need windows (and if it rains or there is a cold spell it’s blood and tears as even half-mast doors come at a premium). What it has in raft-loads is safety: 50 kph impact tests did not deform the protection structure.…

The figures say it all: more than 15 million units sold since 1983 in segment B which in Europe, year after year, accounts for about 30% of the market. This is the story of the Peugeot “200 series”. But the figures also tell us that after the 5.2 million of the 205 and the 7.7 million of the 206, the 207 didn’t even reach 2.4 million. Too big, too heavy, too demanding. So here now is the 208 which has undergone slimming treatment (see our design story at page 44) and weighs in with many new features in addition to the ambition to have Peugeot regain its leading position in the segment. The premises of a generational leap and a very strong personality, but also of “sophisticated emotion” as its…

Original forms, architectures that sweep aside and reinterpret the concept of the automobile, surfaces with unusual textures, interiors that encase, protect and almost pamper their occupants. These are only some of the proposals developed at thesis time by students doing the MA and BA programmes of the Transportation Design course at the German University of Pforzheim. Even in the presence of a name that is so well known in the design training field, a University that has had among its course members some of the most famous car designers in the world, it is impossible not to realise that the attention of young designers is moving further and further away from the reality around them. A reality that is probably too difficult and confused in which limitations and hopes interweave,…

It happens more and more often that car interiors, especially in luxury models, find the inspiration for their styling and materials in contemporary furnishing. This time Mercedes-Benz design has gone in the opposite direction for a new challenge: create a line of furniture for domestic use that takes on board experience developed in the interior design of cars, borrowing both themes and aesthetic language. The collection, developed together with Italian manufacturer Formitalia Luxury Group, made its debut in the week of the Milan International Furniture Show at the Mercedes-Benz showroom in Milan, via Daimler 1. Dinner table with seats, sofa, chaise longue, sideboard, shelf with integrated home theatre system, bed and dresser: these are the first elements in the collection. All designed by the Mercedes-Benz Style division, an integral part…