For the eighth series of the Sonata – the medium-large saloon that Hyundai has been offering for more than thirty years – the Korean company is now launching its new design philosophy, that “sensual sportiness” that was launched last year in Geneva with the Le Fil Rouge concept. This is a language that, in the words of Luc Donckerwolke, head of design for the Hyundai group, “allows us to open a new era from the basis of our tradition, which is to create a distinctive and sporty character in our models.”

Everything is following a theme, which Le Fil Rouge wanted to point out and which started way back in 1974 with the historic Pony Concept designed by Giugiaro. “With sensual sportiness,” echoed SangYup Lee, Hyundai’s style manager, “we want to forge an emotional value for a brand that has always been dedicated to practicality.” That is why this Sonata was created in the name of a new form of harmony, whose underlying principles – as its designers explained – are proportions, architecture, style and technology, combining in a symphony of concave and convex forms destined to create nothing less than sensual tension.

It’s also a demonstration of bravery: at a time when most car manufacturers are focusing on SUVs and crossovers, Hyundai is also betting its chips on the saloon, albeit revamped and moved on from the classic three-volume precept to what could be called a four-door coupé, spacious but with a sloping roof in fastback style, that fuses with the tail in a spoiler taking in the rear light units as well. So we hope that with this model – codenamed DN8 – we can relive the success of the 2010 Sonata YF, which led some critics to mention “magic”; a magic that others thought faded a little in the next model LF in 2015.

In fact, the DN8 breaks away from all previous stylistic features, except the hexagonal grille, and adopts styling solutions, such as the deep lines giving character to the sides or the bonnet with a chrome border that lights up in the dark, which lead SangYup to coin the term “everyday exotic”. The Sonata, whose design was started in 2016, is also – explained Donckerwolke – “the first car to make use of our new digital design process”: a method exploiting closer synergy with the engineers in defining the platform.

The new Sonata, intended mainly for the Asian and American markets, grew from the usual competition between all the designers in Korea, but also those in California and Germany. “In the end,” explained SangYup “for the exteriors the proposal of our Namyang style centre held sway, while for the interiors the answer we opted for came from California.

And although it all came together in Korea, where we made three clay models for the exterior and three for the interior, we deliberately avoided a common design language, being convinced that the car might be more interesting on account of its diversity.” Jaebong Jang, Exterior Design Manager, added: “Our aim was to relive the glory of the vintage Sonatas, using sportiness and beauty, clean, balanced forms, while applying the new architecture to get away from ‘boxy’ ideas, employing exciting stylistic features instead.”

(Full article in A&D no. 237)

For the new Peugeot 208, it is all about the proportions. The perfect balance of height, width, wheelbase, overhang, windshield rake, and glass to sheet metal. That was the bedrock on which Peugeot’s design director, Gilles Vidal, and his team, including Yann Beurel, head of exterior design, and Eric Dejou, head of interior design, built the new 208. “For us the challenge was finding a strong personality, a unique thing on the roads, different from the others, and with the best possible proportions,” Vidal said.

The design competition opened four years ago, but Peugeot designers started thinking in general terms about the new 208 even before that. “We studied the global morphology of the car — do we replace the current 208 with a similar concept, or do we shift to something different?” Vidal said. “Then, there was the issue that the car would have both internal combustion and electric drivetrains. It was an architectural package issue to be answered.

The answer: “We tried to go with a more sporty, dynamic car, a lower car — windscreen back a little, a bit wider, a tiny bit longer,” Vidal said.  The inspiration: The original French “hot hatch” — the 205gti from the mid-1980s, with its distinctive black parabolic wheel arches and horizontal vents on the C pillar.

There were also specific takeaways. The rear window of the 205 was inclined at almost exactly a 45-degree angle, Vidal said, and the inside of the C pillar is vertical, with rounded corners. “We created almost exactly that triangle right above the rear wheel — it’s very simple and powerful in terms of recognition,” he said of the new 208. The wheel-arch treatment also has the effect of improving the proportions, at least visually.

“These days to reach visually ideal proportions you want to put the wheels at the four corners of the car as much as you can, at least for a little car,” Vidal said. “And you want to make the wheels as large as you can.” The extended arch trim makes the wheels seem bigger, and shortens the overhang. “It makes the car interesting and exciting,” Vidal added.

The 208, however, plays within Peugeot’s recent design language, as seen in the 3008 and 5008 crossovers, and the 508 fastback sedan and station wagon. Among the cues are a clamshell hood, “lion’s claw” tail lights and front running lights, and the model number badged on the front. Even though Peugeot strives to avoid the “Russian doll” effect of scaling up or down a single silhouette, the thread that runs through all recent models is a lack of superfluous ornamentation or brightwork.

(Full article in A&D no. 237)

As you move towards that big yellow silhouette shining in its gold-pigment-enhanced paint, one comment can be heard rising from the team standing around it: “It’s a concept, but it’s 80% definitive. The production car will amaze you when you see how faithful it remains to this concept”. A statement of this kind might sound rather bold in relation to the idea of rationality and qualitative solidity in which the Skoda image has been imbued for years.

But at the Mladá Boleslav style centre, work has long been underway on a transition to projects that may retain an innate vocation for practicality but at the same time take on board more emotional formal content: the first expression of the new course is the next Octavia, scheduled for the end of 2019.

Pending this, the Vision iV prototype offers us a glimpse of an all-electric crossover (coming in 2020) whose proportions are directly linked to the mechanical layout, but above all plays with surfaces and details capable of lending a certain scenic impact.

“We are particularly proud of the new grille with its illuminated profile because it pays homage to our long history while being much more modern”, explains Omer Halilhodzic, who was involved in the exterior design. “The functional elements have also been integrated, proving very attractive aesthetically; examples are the fins that make the large 22” wheels more aerodynamic”.

Added to this is the traditional use of sharp creases on the panels, here more suited than elsewhere to emphasise the waistline. The project also focuses on a reshaped and strongly three-dimensional front architecture, an incisive evolution of what is already visible on the most recent Škodas. “All this to try and trigger the so-called “wow effect” while remaining faithful to our principles”, concludes Halilhodzic.

The interior, traditional expression of the brand’s attention to functionality, reveals an unexpected green aspiration: “You might even say it’s vegan,” says Andrea Jensen, head of colour and trim.

(Full article in A&D no. 237)

The world is changing at a pace that wasn’t even imaginable until a few years ago. The car industry is changing even faster, if that is possible. This is because, apart from taking advantage of the technological progress that is driving the industrial sector as a whole, it is facing evolution in the concept of the car the like of which has never been seen before. For this reason, the automotive industry is making progress quite literally from one day to the next.

This is an age of intelligence. In a scenario such as today’s, where technology and innovation are the masters, development is based on various trends, so that now it can be truly said that the activities of a company run on parallel lines. This race for innovation on several fronts was the starting point from which Germany and China have put forward an Industry 4.0 model that has met with success.

An industry that applies new business models to introduce automation into production processes, both increasing productivity and improving the life quality of the worker. The major development plan known as “Made in China 2025” has also made a contribution to this, a plan for China as a whole to revolutionise its production sector and transform the existing manufacturing industry into a highly technological sector. This strategy has been laid down for a very specific purpose: to enable Chinese companies to compete on an equal footing on a global scale.

The car also plays a key role here. It will be the car, in reality, rather than other sectors, that will show how the work will be done in multidisciplinary scenarios. And in doing so, it will take over the leading role of the entire industrial production. As a Chinese car manufacturer, Changan Automobile will tackle new projects with precisely this innovative spirit, rethinking the models of the future from scratch. And as part of this process, design will play a strategic role, as it represents the natural point of contact between art and technology. It is design that will give life to technology, transforming it from something helpless to an animated entity, capable of transmitting emotions and a sense of vitality.

To do this, Changan Automobile follows the concept of “Dynamic vitality” in its design. This idea is leading the style of this particular Manufacturer to evolve and make continuous progress in striving for a constantly better result. For Changan Automobile, the car must no longer be a cold inanimate object that is just a collection of parts, but has to become something friendly and reassuring.

Something that is capable of understanding the driver’s needs and shape itself accordingly, to tune in with the person behind the wheel. This result only becomes possible through an approach that takes into account the times we are living in: the needs of people and the needs of those who use a car. And it comes from Changan’s approach to work, an approach based on the constant search for a breaking point to evolve and progress in the definition of cars that give an increasingly rewarding and engaging travel experience.

(More contents in the Changan Supplement to Auto&Design no. 237)

Brand Dna distilled into a car with athletic, elegant forms, an aesthetic-formal manifesto for the next generation of production models: this is the mission of the Essentia, the concept car presented by Genesis at the New York show and then paraded in the congenial environment of the Concorso d’Eleganza of Villa d’Este. It is there that we meet Luc Donckerwolke, Vice President Hyundai Design and head of Genesis design since 2015, responsible for the project carried forward by his design teams in Korea and Germany. “A new premium brand makes little sense in itself if it doesn’t contribute something new”, says Donckerwolke, who has plenty of experience in the luxury sector given his past as design chief at Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley. “We intend to introduce a new concept of Korean luxury, marked by dynamism and a youthful spirit”.

Having set proportions and silhouette, here are the basic somatic features: “On the front we have an evolution of the Crest Grille, which is something of a noble emblem for the Genesis brand. It is flanked by the Quad Lights, another brand “signature”, four very slender, high-tech horizontal light elements. We want to be innovative and represent that advanced technology expected of Korean products”. The Quad Lights are repeated on the tail and this view also gives advance notice of the shapes and styling cues of future models in the range: “The rear is concave and is characterised by an oval element that combines bumpers and spoilers, which will be fundamental on all Genesis models. We used it for the first time on the GV80 concept unveiled in New York in 2017, which is scheduled to go into production next year”.

Just like the exterior, the interior of the Essentia is marked by formal purity. “Once the theme had been defined, we worked a couple of months just to get rid of elements we considered superfluous, both in the cabin and on the outside,” Donckerwolke points out. “We wanted the geometry to be clear, a good-looking but not aggressive environment, with intuitive interaction. My idea was that you could take one of the seats and put it in the living room. It’s an almost non-automotive more of a domestic interior, the GT must be relaxing, not aggressive like the supercars”.

To speak only of exteriors and interiors, however, would be reductive in the case of the Essentia. “Between these two aspects there is a “grey zone” that usually nobody cares about, then there is an engineer who makes the connection between outer skin and inner skin. Here we decided to make a complete concept, in which the structure of the car becomes a multi-purpose, multifunctional area, for lightness and rigidity”, Donckerwolke explains, lifting the door in whose thickness a honeycomb pattern of considerable aesthetic impact can be seen.

The chromatic combination inside is also unusual, with Cognac brown leather for the front and Oxford Blue leather for the rear seats, “a bit like in the 1930s, when the driver’s seat was covered with sturdier materials while more delicate upholstery was reserved for the passengers”, continues the design chief, who has a weakness for another material used shrewdly on the Essentia, copper. “It is a “warm” material and conducts electricity. In this case it has a two-fold symbolic value: it is an electric car and the official Genesis colours are black and copper”.

The whole project was carried out in record time, Design’s proposal to create an electric concept received the green light last October and in December the design was already defined. Construction took place in Germany between January and April and with the exception of two models of the volumes to show management what they were doing, Genesis designers worked completely digitally, taking advantage of the Korean-European time difference and in effect proceeding 24 hours a day.

(Full article in A&D no. 232)

Before interviewing Alejandro Mesonero, head of Seat design, I couldn’t help but feel a surprisingly effervescent climate among the pavilions set up at the historic Terramar circuit, not far from Barcelona, to present the new Spanish brand. Built around concrete and granite structures, with copper profiles and entire walls shimmering in octane blue, they themselves communicate the innovative intention deeply rooted in the contemporaneity that animates the latest adventure of the Volkswagen group.

“When we thought about who would buy a Cupra, we reflected on the idea that more and more individuals today are looking for another dimension to sportiness”, says Mesonero. “In addition to pure performance, people want an aesthetic that is not overly striking but, above all, less “basic” than in the past. Just think of colours: once a performance car was essentially red, black or yellow. Too simple. There is now a segment of the public that is moving towards a higher level of sophistication. As the Seat brand grows, we are ready to offer it to them in a new package”.

Underlying the alchemy is an integrated study of lifestyle from which design philosophy takes its inspiration. “We are trying to create a universe around the car, also playing on communication and merchandising and involving young, dynamic companies, characterised by a high degree of craftsmanship. This is not the usual collection of key rings and t-shirts: we contacted an Italian manufacturer of sunglasses, L.G.R., which wants nothing less than absolute quality in manual skills. And still in Italy one of the most interesting objects of our world has been developed, the Fabike Cupra, an extraordinary bicycle that comes with a carbon fibre frame, racing handlebars, hydraulic brakes and transmission belt instead of the chain, as well as real leather details. A proposal that represents a great part of what we are”.

The intention of constructing an identity system capable of extending far beyond the car is evident throughout the conceptual process of the operation, with the idea of differentiating its scope and ennobling its value with respect to an anodyne re-branding of the best performing Seats. The design of the new logo does not escape this, of course: “It is made up of two Cs intertwined in a triangle with an inverted tip, with a result that is able to communicate both Teutonic precision and aggressively tribal character, almost like a tattoo. But above all, it’s a symbol that leads us to think of a jacket pin, rather than a House badge”.

For the moment, this intellectual and image drive is backed up by only timid forays into the product. However full of promise they may appear to be: the Cupra TCR and eRacer, for example, represent two interesting elaborations of the lines of the current Leon in racing or electrified guise, generous in aerodynamic ideas and research into colours and materials. On the road models front, on the other hand, we have the Ateca, going on sale very soon, and the Ibiza which is a bit further away. “But in the early months of 2019 we could see the debut of an important novelty”, Mesonero reveals. Letting slip a further tantalising final indiscretion: “Here we are deeply interested in authenticity. We like the pure sportiness and sophistication of handmade goods. For this reason, for many customisation options we will rely on small local suppliers, carefully selected by our compact Martorell team: like a manufacturer of real carbon fibre spoilers that will make five hundred pieces just for us. That’s the Cupra formula”.

(Full article in A&D no. 232)

The life of the Nu-Age, the concept presented in Beijing by OuShang, one of the Changan group’s four brands, began with a little drawing that seems to have been done by a child: under a glittering sun we see a beach umbrella under which there is a chair for an elderly person, while the chair for adults is without shelter; in the middle is a space where children can play. The idea was to create a car that would reflect the needs of the new extended Chinese family which Changan’s designers have studied in depth. The Nu-Age, which can be read as in French (nuage, cloud: “The shape of the exterior”, says Chen Zheng, “looks just like a cloud”) or English (new age: “A new form, a new language for OuShang”), reflects that drawing.

The beach umbrella, explains Chen Zheng, who is Global Design Chief of the Chinese carmaker, is to be found at the back of the cabin, where a web of wood provides protection from the light of the large window and the leather-covered armchairs guarantee maximum comfort to the grandparents. The adults sit in front, the children in the middle on two round jump seats that open to become comfortable seats. “This”, says Chen Zheng, “is a car for the future; but a future that is not too far away”. Enough, in any case, to “change the image of the brand, which until now has produced essentially minivans, and define its future in terms of design language”.

Because this “cloud” is just the beginning: “It reflects a scenario of the new Chinese society”, Chen says. “Next time round we will face another scenario”. In the meantime, it meets the two key requirements of the future: electric motors and autonomous driving. Jaromir Cech, Project Design Director, who worked closely with Exterior Manager Matteo Krzanowski, comments: “Traditional cars have three volumes: engine compartment, passenger compartment and luggage compartment.

Everything is different in the Nu-Age. The motors are in the hubS of the four wheels. Then in the future of self-drive cars there is no need for a boot because that too can be autonomous; for example it could take the form of a trolley that is towed by the car. So the whole space is given over to the passenger compartment, namely to the family”.

Where we would expect to find the boot, in fact, there is a pull-out table for picnicking. “Inside”, adds Chen, “a centre table runs through the entire car and acts as a unifying element for the family. And there’s more: “On the roof a small drone gives a sense of protection and confidence because it can detect line-backs or accidents on the road and thus reduces driver anxiety. They are not the only intelligent “oddities”. When the car is stationary, the lower part of the doors folds out, widening the floor. “The Nu-Age”, says Cech, “communicates the brand’s new DNA, which has left tradition behind it”.

“Even the interiors”, explains Interior Manager Simone Tironi, who worked with Interior Project Leader Francesco Cundari, “reflect a new, pure and clean design language. Honest materials, from the felt on the floor to fabrics and leather. When the doors open it is like being in a room. In autonomous driving mode, even the instruments disappear completely”.

(Full article in A&D no. 232)

The spirit of profound, forthright renewal that pervades the latest generation of one of the most significant American icons of all time can, perhaps, be traced back to a single element, the grille: “Now it’s taller and straighter, and it ensures a much stronger visual presence for the whole front”, explains Mark Allen, head of Jeep’s global design. “It also conceals a detail that many might not have noticed, but which is an important citation for us: the two headlights, larger than in the past, make slight inroads into the perimeter of the two outermost slots, as was the case with the original CJ”. Here, the reference to the famous off-roader of the Seventies sums up much of the operational approach that characterised the project.

Even the new three-dimensional treatment of the surface behind the front wheel arches, completed by a small air vent, was indirectly inspired by the vehicle’s forerunner. “Fundamentally, it was a matter of giving the bonnet more volume, just as in the past”, confirms Brian Nielander, Head of Design for Performance, Passenger and Utility, who was in charge of the vehicle. “On the penultimate Wrangler the panels had become flat in some places, while the solution of the shaped slots, also made possible by the longer wheelbase, led us to give the profile of the upper part of the nose a more full-bodied look”.

Since the openings are real, they also get round some inconveniences that have occurred in recent years, related to excessive pressure in the engine compartment. “Here, every stylistic choice is always linked to vehicle functionality and simplifying use,” Allen continues. “For example, the roof panels were designed to ensure complete disassembly within seconds, while the new structure with a safety cage extending up to the A-pillars, allowed us to design a windscreen that was particularly easy to tip forward. Then we perfected all the details, the added value of this edition”.

In fact, the honing of minor elements and the rationalisation of visual signs means a veritable revolution for the Jeep brand: the definitive transition towards the product approach, purified of pointless roughness and not devoid of a certain playful taste, albeit faithful to tradition. “When you are dealing with such powerful symbolism you have to be humble”, Nielander comments, “for this reason we have not altered the fundamental canons. On the other hand, this vehicle was comparable to a big toy that deserved to express its full character: at times we took an approach similar to that of developing a muscle-car, looking for power and fun together”.

Among the elements that, more than others, reflect the renewed attention to detail, the direction indicators incorporated in the mudguards stand out most: in addition to stressing their outline and width and the definition of a pleasant graphic effect, they allow the perimeter of the grille to remain more faithful to the original than would have been the case with the traditional round lights, because current laws would have meant their positioning was too external. Even the shape and position of the windshield washer nozzles are guided by a criterion of formal cleanliness, while the Jeep logo disappears from the nose. “You didn’t feel the need anymore”, smiles Nielander.”And the other micro-interventions testify to how precise the design was, without any nuances of brutality”.

Moreover, meticulous refinement also become focal points in the passenger compartment. Ryan Patrick Joyce, who oversaw the development, says: “Every millimetre has been redesigned. But if the interior borrows suggestions from the past, both in a luxury key and in a more practical and essential sense, some of the processes hark back to a sophistication that is permitted only by the most up-to-date production and assembly techniques, as in the case of the gear lever knob”. Improvements in ergonomics, materials and construction quality thus become the crucial technical framework of a styling register pleasantly suspended between the contemporary and the nostalgic, the technological and the Spartan. “Overall, the new Wrangler required a uniquely attentive approach to customer feedback”, concludes Mark Allen. “It was important to open up to the new Suv user generation without disappointing the “pure hard-liners”. And by inviting them to play again, we would add.

(More contents in the Jeep Design Supplement to Auto&Design no. 232)

Five years after the birth of the first series, a completely different Eado – “A milestone”, Chen Zheng defines it – makes its appearance on the automotive stage. Its mandate could not be more challenging: to express, alongside the Raeton CC, the new design language of the Changan brand and to launch a youthful compact intended for a young demographic on the Chinese and later international market.

“Eado is an acronym, where E stands for Extraordinary, A for Action, D for Dominating and O for Outcome. For me, from the design point of view, Eado stands for Efficient, Active, Different and Optimistic. That is how we encapsulate the new reality. I have deep emotions for Eado”, explains Chen Zheng, global design Chief of the Chinese carmaker. He also manages the Chinese studio in Chongqing and the Japanese studio in Yokohama out of the impressive European design centre on the outskirts of Turin, of which he is General Manager, a total team of 450 people.

The Changan Eado XT – code name C211 – should not be confused with another Eado that Changan is launching at the same time: the smaller Eado DT, earmarked to be the Chinese brand’s entry level model. From its older sister it has only borrowed the name for marketing purposes aimed at exploiting its charm and celebrity, but in reality it is a facelift of the already existing Yuexiang V7 subcompact, also known as the Alvsin V7.

The XT has been committed to enhancing product content and achieving leapfrog development, it encapsulates Changan’s ambition to change the connotations of its production with a quantum leap that can also be seen in the birth of a fourth brand within the group, alongside Changan itself (V-shaped logo), OuShang with its MPVs, KaiCheng with its light commercial vehicles (from A-shaped logo), and a premium brand, in a development that follows the precedents of Toyota (Lexus) and Nissan (Infiniti) achieving another breakthrough.

“In the four years up until the end of 2017”, says Chen Zheng, “the first series of the Eado sold 720 thousand units, 68 percent to young families. But the structure of Chinese society is changing rapidly, due also to new legislation that from 2013 allows families to have more than one child. There is a need for larger cars for parents and two children, perhaps even granny too, as well as the family luggage. Sometimes even a puppy”. Many opt for an Mpv. But even without going that far, a roomy car can be very convenient. And the Eado fits into that category.

4.71 metres long, 1.82 wide, 1.50 tall, available with a 1.6-litre 125 bhp aspirated engine or a 170 bhp 1.5 turbo, the new car had a very complex gestation. Chen Zheng explains: “Before thinking about design we had to make a study of user habits in a China where even young families are becoming more affluent. We therefore sent seven employees across China to learn about the daily lives of our potential customers. What do they do at the weekend, what mobile phones do they have, what tools do they buy, what means of transport do they use, what routes do they follow? A precise map for each family observed. And that’s because we don’t want to be a traditional brand, but the new brand”.

Full article in Auto&Design no. 231