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2009 Opel Envisions Future Vehicles Review

May 2009
Filed under: OPEL Car News | OPEL Headlines

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With his concept of a vehicle with no wheels, Augustin Barbot (25) of France was chosen as the winner of a competition sponsored by Opel/Vauxhall and Royal College of Art (RCA) Vehicle Design program to develop a concept of future mobility.

Barbot will spend three months working at General Motors Europe Design Center in Rüsselsheim and gain valuable work experience and insight through hands-on experience with future technologies such as electric vehicles.

He will be joined by Hyunjoon Park (25) of South Korea and Miika Heikkinen (26) of Finland, who were highly commended for their work. Recognizing their efforts, General Motors has invited them, too, to Russelsheim to meet the GM Design Team so they can see how car designers work on a daily basis and see firsthand how future mobility needs are shaped.

The competition was part of a celebration honoring 40 years of the RCAs Vehicle Design course. Nineteen students from 11 countries, including Germany, the UK, the Czech Republic and China participated in the challenge, in which they were asked to identify the potential customer of tomorrow and use that profile to develop a vision of how the Opel/Vauxhall brand could play a role in the customers life.

Ideas included zero-emission single seat vehicles; a racing vehicle driven by the human brain; eco-touring machines powered by waterfalls and city transport run on magnetic levitation.

Barbots winning concept was called Opel D49 or Darwin 2049 " a new breed of vehicle which has no wheels. It moves 10 cm above ground by electro-magnetic power or in the sea like a submarine. Three turbines, two at the front and one at the back, produce the energy to move the lightweight vehicle forward. Because it is an essential part of the design, the aluminum frame covered by a semi-flexible and clear waterproof resin eliminates the need for body panels.

Parks concept was based on the idea of escaping the stresses and strains of the world through a new vehicle body shape that moulds to the drivers shape and mood, allowing human and car to become one.

Heikkinens vision was of a zero emission single seat vehicle for city use. When not in operation, it becomes part of the cityscape creating a place to rest. The design was inspired by light patterns on long shutter speed images and the marine creature nautilus.

Judges for the competition included Vehicle Design Course Director Professor Dale Harrow as well as tutors Sam Livingstone and Richard Winsor. Mark Adams, Vice President of Design, GM Europe, Anthony Lo, Director, Advanced Design GME and Peter Stevens, a car designer and part-time tutor also participated as independent judges.

“The standard of overall work was excellent; everything we saw was very forward thinking and anticipated both practical and emotional needs of mobility. Augustin did a good job interpreting the brief from an Opel/Vauxhall perspective, building on our commitment to electric vehicles and anticipating tomorrows mobility needs, says GMEs advance design chief Lo.

"It's clear from the new Insignia that GM Europe is going through a design revolution and judging from the sales figures, good design is now on top of everyone's agenda. The RCA is a fantastic place to create and explore the future - to do this with such a forward- thinking company and their designers, many of whom are ex-RCA students, has been an exciting opportunity for all involved and has produced some spectacular results," adds RCA Vehicle design director Harrow.

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