Cool Cars

With main focus on extreme design but keeping an eye on the environment, the graduates at the Royal College of Art have competed for the 2008 Pilkington Automotive Vehicle Design award, with several futuristic cool cars ideas.Among these graduates were Ian Callum, the Jaguar design chief, Peter Schreyer, the original Audi TT designer and current head of Kia design, Marek Reichman, the design director at Aston Martin, and many other important figures from the industry.The winners of the RCA Vehicle Design 2008 were Pierre Sabbas for the best car concept and Jon Radbrink for best using of glazing.

First comes the Phoenix concept by Sergio Loureiro Da Silva, the Spanish designer who used this innovative car concept design to express the regeneration of lost energy through movement. He said: “It’s about improving sustainability by designing every element to aspire to less energy consumption.”“The beauty of a vehicle comes from the contrast of a fluid shape with precise technical elements”, added the designer.

The winner for best concept, Pierre Sabas, created the Airflow glass car design, placing both the electrically driven engine and suspension in the wheel, this leading to a high degree of architectural freedom. Inside, the car is made of glass and has 4 capsules for the passengers.

“I’ve tried to wrap it around like fabric,” says Sabas. “It allows for a new driving sensation and it gives the occupants a new perception of the outside world.”