Coventry University design graduates develop iconic youth car

Three graduates from the Coventry University MA Automotive Design course have created an iconic vehicle for the year 2020. Kazunori Inomota, Edward Stubbs and Mujammil Khan-Muztar designed the Rebel concept, a project that began in March this year, to incorporate aspects of Japanese 'Harajuku' gangs - where teenagers create their own fashion to deliberately try to stand out from their peers - and Toyota's youth-oriented Scion brand.

Drawing styling cues from the Scion xB and the Ford SYNus concept unveiled at the 2005 NAIAS in Detroit, the Rebel concept is about social interaction, functionality, and the relationship buyers have with personalized products.

Like the Scion xB, the Rebel concept can be customized to fit the needs and style of an individual, but the Rebel goes a step further: the car features interchangeable panels that incorporate various functions at the rear, which can be reconfigured in a variety of different ways to accommodate a multi-functional 'live space'. The assortment of panels, attached and hot-wired to a structural rear 'box' frame, effectively transform the vehicle into a highly personalized mobile extension of the home or office and can be stored in a sandwich-floor compartment when not in use.

"The car as we understand it today will have to cross over into being more than a transportation device. It has to be part of your life's toolbox," said designer Edward Stubbs. The design could open the door for companies outside of the traditional OEM suppliers to add their specifically-designed panels to the vehicle's interior. "Each company would produce tailor-made panel units with specific functions ranging from a touch-screen display, to a BMX holding panel, to a storage unit for running shoes: virtually anything would be possible."

In the front section of the Rebel's cabin, the seats can rotate to face rearward (an idea derived from Japanese high-speed trains) and feature a folding base mechanism, enabling the seats to disappear into the floor and extending useable space at the rear. The instrument panel can be easily adapted from right to left hand drive configuration thanks to a simplistic design.

The Rebel concept is proposed to source power from an electric Siemens-VDOTM wheel system to minimize interior space intrusion. Batteries for the system and rear accessories would be housed under the hood.

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