Lancia Delta HPE concept

The Lancia Delta of 1980 was the first compact front wheel drive Lancia, sharing its platform with the same size Strada from parent company Fiat, and was one of the most distinctively elegant cars in the class as well as one of Giugiaro's best designs. It was voted European Car Of The Year and went on to classic status in its early 90s high performance four wheel drive rally homologation Integrale version.

The Delta shown at Paris is a preview of the soon to be announced new production Delta that, like its forbearer, will share its platform with a C-sector Fiat; this time the Brava which will replace the Stilo next year. It will be also be an important new car for Lancia given their low sales and polarised range of large E-sector Thesis and MPV Phedra, and small B-sector Ypsilon.

The overall proportions of the Delta HPE (the moniker originally stood for High Performance Estate) are similar to that of the five door Audi A3 - a long roofed five door hatchback. The grille and front and rear lamps are similar to those of the Thesis, the car which first established the modern Lancia design philosophy that uses core elements derived from classic Lancias such as the 1950 Aurelia. Otherwise the car has few particularly new and distinctive elements except for a prominent side feature crease - which also was the most obvious aspect of the display model's exceptionally poor quality; note how it fades in and out inconstantly and changes direction in plan along its length. Other elements of the design that also seemed to be far from well resolved include the way the top of the C-pillar stops short of meeting the roof, the floating vertical elements in the grille and front and rear lower bumpers, and many of the surfaces throughout the car...

Lancia desperately need a hit like the original Delta to prevent the brand's extinction. The production version of the Delta concept will surely address many of the design execution issues detailed here, but showing this car at Paris does very little to assure one that Lancia's future is in safe hands.

Venturi Eclectic

At Paris this year an unusual highlight was a three-seater zero emission city vehicle able to run on a combination of electricity, solar energy and even wind power. Called Eclectic, and created by Venturi, the car claimed to be the first autonomous energy vehicle and the most economical environmental vehicle ever built. Such claims have some weight, not least of all because the car is the world's first production vehicle to use solar and wind power in addition to household electricity for recharging.
 
The car is actually an air-cooled electric quadricycle using Hydride metal Nickel batteries and able to recharge under braking and from its roof-top solar panels. The chassis - of composite, aluminium and steel - sits under a body manufactured from composite materials. From the mains, a full charge takes five hours. Top speed is 50km per hour and the car has a 50km range. The solar charging system and a wind turbine can further enhance the vehicle's range - the sun can add 7km per day; an optional wind turbine up to 15km per day.

Eclectic has been designed to meet the needs of environment-conscious companies and consumers driving in urban environments. Designed by Sacha Lakic, Eclectic's appearance has been driven by its function with little conventional styling, though it reminds one of iconic cars like the Mini Moke.

The one-box structure provides an elevated central driving position, panoramic vision and considerable space, though due to headlamp regulations, the front lights obscure the line of sight somewhat.

Venturi has already begun production of 20 pre-series cars. A limited version of 200 will follow in June 2007, before a higher level of production begins in 2009.
 

Ford Mondeo Wagon concept

This is the preview of the new 2007 Mondeo, which is likely to debut at Geneva next spring. Ford have decided to show it in wagon form because that's the best selling bodystyle in Europe, especially in Germany and Italy. "We're making the link obvious between Iosis and new Mondeo. You could say it's a Mondeo in Iosis dress" said Geoff Gardiner, Design Manager Exterior Design. We've seen Ford's 'Kinetic Design' translated into the S-Max and Galaxy this year and the Mondeo concept continues that process by revealing how 'Kinetic' can be applied in a mainstream practical car. The result is certainly pleasing and well-resolved and the elements employed are well-documented previously: the dynamic look is accentuated with a strong shoulder to the car, a pronounced side feature crease, chunky wheelarches, and a strong rocker section. The three-plane front of the car features an inverted trapezoid lower grille, while the rear has a gentle kick-up in the lower DLO and a faceted lower edge to the rear window.

However, the downside is that these elements of Kinetic Design are classic solutions currently being used by other makers, not least Mercedes, Audi and Citroen. As it is, the Mondeo concept looks promising but take away too many of the typical 'concept' parts - LED lamps, 20" wheels, rear diffuser and exhaust outlets - and by the time it reaches production it could rapidly lose the desirability factor that Ford so desperately wants to attain with its customers.

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