Coventry MA Automotive Design/Vehicle Interiors exhibition 2010

As the winter takes grip on the northern hemisphere, CDN travel to Coventry, the birthplace of the British car industry – and many a car designer – to catch up with this year's MA Automotive Design and Vehicle Interiors students for their biannual exhibition, held in the city's impressive Transport Museum.

This year 15 students, led by tutors Aaamer Mahmud and CDN contributor, Nick Hull, are completing the 16-month postgraduate course.

Carrosse
Stephane Krumenacker
Krumenacker's personal interest in (built) environmental philosophy dictated his approach to this project, which started with a scenario rather than a product. The Carrosse takes into consideration not only an aesthetic, but also an infrastructure for 'last mile' vehicles. The locally-built 'pods' are designed to be as simple, efficient and economical as possible. Only when the package was developed were any aesthetic considerations made.

XSCAPE
Shengjie Wang
As cities continue to grow into sprawling megacities, so the desire to escape grows. Wang's Xscape project is designed to offer a sense of escapism even within the confines of the city, with lightweight efficiency central to its philosophy. Its tandem seating position not only increases the feeling of connection with the vehicle, but also has obvious width advantages when negotiating city streets. Its party-piece is its flexible bodywork, which can expand to add an extra seat. This is most evident in the neat, expandable concertina rear light cluster.

Bentley Prometheus
Zhaozhi Sun
"To share power is the new luxury", muses Sun, whose Bentley interior concept features conductive power technology to share its power to charge other electric cars around it, the idea of a 'sharing' 'exclusive' car somewhat of an oxymoron. The interior design continues to mix opposites, being formed of both open (in the front) and closed (rear) spaces, which are formed of vast, cocooning surfaces. The rear compartment can be used to either hold business meetings or spend time with the family, while the driver has his own compartment and separate entrance.

Lotus Exceed 1.01
Xin Zhang
Drawing inspiration from the computer industry, with individually designed, optimized components, Zhang's project explores the customization opportunities facilitated by the industry's use of second-tier suppliers. Designed for a scenario where customers are able to pick between a variety of components to attach to their cabin, which acts as a motherboard. The result is an aesthetic that ties in with Lotus' lightweight roots thanks to its modularity.

eVe
Ringlarei 'Ringo' Pamei
The introduction of new technologies brings with it new possibilities for designers to explore and so, with this in mind, Pamei set about creating a uniquely 'EV' aesthetic for his project. The main aim is to communicate lightness, efficiency and flexibility. The extensive use of glazing, layered cowling in place of traditional bodywork and a visible central chassis speak of a vehicle pared back to its bones. The tires incorporate the suspension system, while extra electric motors can be fitted inside the wheels, giving a visual identifier to the amount of power on offer.

Continues →

By Owen Ready