The Insignia was the most significant launch at the London Motor Show, showcasing the first production application of the Opel (Vauxhall in the UK) new design philosophy.
The Insignia is the first car designed under the direction of GM Europe Vice President of Design Mark Adams, and has the form language and 'blade' feature line first seen on the GTC concept at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. This works with strong shoulder line, steeply raked roofline and great wheel to body proportions to give a premium sedan quality to the exterior. Shallow profile tires on up to 20-inch wheels further enhance the dynamic stance of the car. "I kept telling the guys to design around 17-inch wheel and make the design work around that," Chief Exterior Designer Malcolm Ward told CDN.
Though we had already seen the Insignia sedan at GM's European Design Center in Russelsheim, this was our first look at the hatchback version of the new car which has an extra 20mm at the rear of the roof and a rear spoiler tacked on to achieve the same slippery .26Cd as the sedan. The higher roofline of the hatch also seems to accentuate the design's forward motion.
Designers we spoke to at the show, and the designer's night afterwards, were mostly impressed with what GM Europe have achieved in the execution of the Insignia design and thus its general quality perception. But with distinctive designs such as the Citroen C5, Ford Mondeo and premium D-sector European market designs, most felt that the Insignia could have had a stronger theme and that once its new car sheen has worn off, it will soon fade into the automotive landscape of the outside lane.
Making its UK debut here, the new Alfa Romeo MiTo is the smallest Alfa Romeo model since the Alfasud in the 1970s. Smaller than the 147, it's a B-segment model based on the platform of the Fiat Grande Punto and aims to compete with the Mini, Ford Fiesta and Audi A1 (due next year) as a compact, fashion-orientated model.
Clearly, the styling theme is derived from the flagship 8C and carries several cues from that car, including the front face, kicked-up DLO and circular LED taillamps. But the translation from sketches to production 4-meter hatchback isn't entirely a happy one, particularly the front end. Seen from a few paces away, the Alfa shield grille tends to give a bird-like face due to the narrower width of the car, accentuated by the teardrop shape of the headlamps and a lower grille with turned-down ends, which increases the odd expression of the car. Some designers CDN spoke to felt it looked either surprised or slightly cross-eyed, mainly due to the graphics of the lamps, with the two arched-shaped eyebrows over the main ellipsoid bulbs.
The interior is more successful however - one of Alfa's best designs so far. The IP top surface has a typical Alfa twin-hooded instrument binnacle complimented with four round vents protruding out of the main surface to produce an arresting landscape of forms. Inset into this is a carbon-fiber effect soft plastic pad that envelops the instrument binnacle hood and sweeps down into the center stack. It's a great texture that suits the car well, especially when the interior is trimmed with typical Italian high contrast tan leather seats. Other features include a plug-in MP3 player and Bluetooth phone connectivity, using technology from parent Fiat's highly successful Blue & Me technology. Finally, note the DNA electronic control system paddle just in front of the gearlever, featuring three modes: Dynamic, Normal and All-Weather - adjusting the responsiveness of the throttle, steering, brakes and gearbox.
This is a very important new car for Lotus. It's the first all-new car since the 1995 Elise, the first Lotus developed from scratch for global markets and the first 2+2 Lotus design since the 1974 Elite S1. It's also set to go head to head with cars such as the Porsche 911...
There are two core significant aspects to the design. First is its unusual combination of 2+2 seating with a mid-mounted engine; and the second is its Lotus aesthetic: lightweight, taught forms pulled over slim bones, a wraparound windscreen and details such as the chuckling mouth and twin circular rear lamps. These two aspects then interact where the discontinuous shoulder line, lower side rocker feature (two of the design's most interesting design details) and the short DLO successfully counteract the long wheelbase inherent in this configuration.
Inside, behind the cream leather front seats, is a black leather narrow bench seat with just enough space for small children. The light leather IP front, thick aluminum panels in the center console and instrument binnacle and details such as the polished billet aluminum armrest hinge and push-push round switches make the interior a special place to be in.
The few criticisms of the car we picked up on related to its classical quality - some citing little progression since the M250 concept of 1999 - although Design Director Russell Carr told us Lotus "wants our cars to be modern but classical". This makes sense as it will likely have a long product lifecycle and that it is looking to compete with designs as familiar to us as the Porsche Cayman and 911. Beyond these slight criticisms, this car was being very well received by press and designers we spoke to. It carefully balances a unique and contemporary form with a classical edge: it looks lithe while still having substance and it looks like its worth Porsche money while also looking like a Lotus!
This was the only new concept at the British Motor Show from a volume manufacturer. The Open Study Model is a two-seat roadster with two vestigial rear jump seats designed in Honda's Offenbach studio in Germany, under the direction of Masaki Kobayashi and the justification of the launch here is based on two factors: first, that the UK has a continuing obsession with sports cars and second, it remains Honda's most significant market in Europe.
The overall aesthetic has an Italian quality to it, particularly the previous generation Alfa Spider, with its short lean-forward rump, long front overhang and strongly-diving line running forwards from above the rear wheel. Given that the model was built in Turin, maybe that's no surprise, although neither of the two designers involved - Dimitrios Darkoudis and Andreas Sittel - are themselves Italian. The form language used here is softer than the current Civic or the previous CR-Z concept (also on display here) and gives a possible indication of where Honda is heading next for its European models.
Probably the most novel aspect of the design is the protruding front and rear lamps. A new twist here is the way the added surface continues as part of a plinth on the body surface itself. Note also the way the beltline twists up around the A-pillar and continues into the hood cowl line and the 6-spoke wheels with an interesting new treatment where the spokes are ‘dragged' around the rim.
The interior builds on themes seen in the Civic with its floating IP surface, split graphically into three areas: a dark gray functional area surrounding the driver with metallic blue waves either side. "We didn't want to split the exterior and interior, they should morph together," explained Sittel. The two tiny rear bucket seats are split by a central spine that grows out of the center console and are finished in the same metallic blue and white leather as the front seats.
Seat chose the British Motor Show to debut the production design of the new Ibiza hatchback, previewed as the Bocanegra concept in Geneva earlier this year. The design is most significant for being based on the Volkswagen Group's next generation small car architecture, which will be shared with the forthcoming Polo. On first impressions, this seems to be far less advanced than the architecture of the Honda Jazz, Toyota Yaris and that shared between the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2, all of which have a more ‘one and a half' box profile, are less massive at the front and have more plan shape.
Offered as both a five-door and a high performance three-door variant, the design shows a development of the Seat corporate facial identity. The central grille has prominent vertical vanes and is flanked by headlamps that have a ‘hooded' look from the side feature line sweeping around over them, further accentuated by a band of LEDs on higher specification versions that give it a heavy ‘eye-brow' look.
The three-door version differs to the five-door at the rear more than other Volkswagen Group products in this class have done before - note how the side feature line wraps around the rear three quarter on the three-door above the rear light, but fades through the light on the five-door version. Also note the different rake of the rear window and lower roofline.
Inside, the IP is angled towards the driver and uses modern textures, which will counter the cheaper looking materials relative to its forthcoming Volkswagen and Audi-branded siblings. The compact and integrated design of the HVAC and ICE controls and the steering wheel design are other notable design elements of this otherwise orthodox interior.
Seat purports to be a sporty brand - its slogan is "auto emoción" - but this new Ibiza's old fashioned proportions hobble the brand's ambitions despite its emotive graphics and feature lines.
It might look like a classical powerful front engine GT and you'd be forgiven for thinking it's powered by a large and powerful multi-cylinder engine, but in fact, the Lightning is an electric car due to reach buyers in 18 months time. CDN spoke to principal designer Daniel Durrant who took us through the design - one of the most impressive aspects of which is that it started only nine months ago.
Overall, the exterior theme is classical sports GT with overtones of sixties coupes such as the Maserati Ghibli in its long, low proportions, gently raked rear and kicked up rear side window. Contemporary surfacing and detail design - such as the fading side feature line and circular rear lights connected by a single graphic element - help lift this design above other British low volume sports car designs.
The interior is impressive too, with its bespoke design details including a Jaguar XF style gear selector dial in the center console and ‘+' and ‘-' foot pedals which relate to the car's nano-safe, battery powered four in-wheel 120kW powertrain.
The Lightning GT is a handsome car and a well executed design, but with only a rear fog light sitting in place of an exhaust pipe, we think that it is also a missed opportunity. Sports cars are status symbols and electric cars are increasingly becoming status symbols. An electric sports car would then perhaps benefit from looking more like an electric sports car...
