|
|
Oct 16, 2003 – The Kiwami concept car complements the world’s first fuel cell powered production car launched at Tokyo, the Honda FCX. Honda makes the bold claim that the Kiwami ‘matches Honda's clean-performing fuel cell technology with the Japanese aesthetic of beauty in a premium next-generation sedan’.
With echoes of Renault’s original Vel Satis 1998 concept car in being a low roofed mono-space with a clean interior aesthetic as well as in purporting to be an alternative perspective on the future luxury car, the Kiwami also has its roots in a Japanese design aesthetic with simple linear surfaces and a monochrome interior being the clearest signifiers. The Honda press release goes further to suggest "the Japanese aesthetic sensibility and values are expressed in this unique vehicle, with its quietly strong, minimalist stance", and even ‘the beauty of a landscape as it changes hues with the seasons; the gentle murmur of a clean flowing stream; the scent of a new season carried on the breeze"(!)
Although it has almost the same dimensions as a Ferrari 360 Modena, the four door four seat Kiwami is a uniquely and dramatically proportioned car, in part due to a notably low floor, that could become an attractive alternative for the next generation of premium car buyers.
|
