Giugiaro Vadho concept

Vadho is an unusual sports concept car that places its two occupants in tandem on the left side within a clear canopy, next to a BMW hydrogen powertrain on the right side.

The car has a refined and handsome form. Svelte feature lines run from adjacent to the vertical orientated Gallardo-esque lights, through to the rear of the car, and define a crisp surface change from convex shoulder to concave lower top surface. Otherwise the overall form and proportions of the car have little new to offer, and some of the detailing, particularly at the rear, is fussy.

Giorgetto Giugiaro's work at Ital Design included some seminal sports car designs such as the Lotus Esprit, but his reputation was earned mostly with designs were those that were clever: the first Volkswagen Golf, the Lancia Megagamma MPV concept, and the original Fiat Panda.

With the Vadho now proudly wearing a large red 'G' on its nose to signify the re-branding of Italdesign as Italdesign Giugiaro (with emphasis on the Giugiaro name alone) it is a shame that it fails to live up to reputation earned by its predecessors of the 70s and 80s. The rationale for a powertrain sitting to the side of the occupants is unclear, and thematically Vadho borrows heavily from the then innovative 1988 Ital Design Aztec and Fabrizio Giugiaro's first concept, the 1991 Nazca. Italdesign Giugiaro seems in need of more than just a bit of re-branding to reassert its reputation.

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Renault Clio Grand Tour

At last year's Geneva show Renault presented the Altica concept car, a four seat, three door sports estate car. This year they presented the Clio Grand Tour which is a show car preview of what appears to be a production four seat three door estate car.

Just like the Altica, the Clio Grand Tour has four separate seats, the rear ones also not being flush together so the cabin is partially open to the trunk - like the Volvo C30. But unlike the Altica the Clio is over 1.5 meters tall which in combination with a very deep DLO and a longer rear overhang than the hatchback Clio, makes for a unique, yet bland and slightly stoic set of proportions. If the production car has five doors to compete directly with the Peugeot 206SW, this shrunken hearse look will perhaps be avoided. Otherwise it is hard to see who would want such a long tall Clio estate: three doors compromise the practicality of its estate body for a family buyer, and the clunky proportions compromise its sports estate aspirations for a style conscious buyer.

With the exception of new bumper and lamp can innards, the exterior is carry over Clio forwards of the windscreen and bland aft of it, although the barely visible exterior paint graphic that fades in from the side doors rearward is a nice reminder of the Altica.

The interior is more interesting with a mix of show car dressing such as the photography equipment integrated into the boot, production car preview elements such as the steering wheel and IP form, along with classic Renault concept car design experimentation like the centre stack.

Sitting on the Renault stand next to the "me too" new Twingo design and the relatively conventional Koleos concept that debuted in Paris, the Clio Grand Tour seems to be part of a now established timid Renault design direction.  

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Toyota Hybrid X

Designed in Toyota's ED2 studio in Nice, the Hybrid X is said to propose a new design language for their hybrid models. Interior designer, Laurent Bouzige, says: "Hybrid X is conceived as a multi-sensory experience. There is a formal style in the shape of the vehicle and the material used but every other reaction is linked to the passenger's senses of sound, smell, sight and touch through interactive ambience." To many eyes, however, the smooth one-box profile with vertical rear end is slightly too simple to be really attractive. The design relies heavily on graphics to provide character, yet the graphics themselves are not especially powerful. The front end is deliberately plain, without any grille opening and the side view has little detail to catch the eye, apart from the DLO and wheels. The strongest element of the exterior is the two 'U' shapes created by the massive upper glass frame and the A and C pillars that wrap into the roof. When viewed from above this gives the impression of a vast X: hence the name - Hybrid X. The problem is that this is indeed the best view of the car - from above. Displayed on a high plinth at Geneva it was difficult to appreciate the pillar formation.

There are interesting aspects to this car though. The LED headlamps are 'intelligent' and can display animated graphic forms, thus allowing the car to communicate safety information to pedestrians or other drivers. The interior has a clear Japanese feeling, with its off-white color contrasted with purplish-black seat back shells, plus the use of a random fabric pattern on the door armrests. The driver can also set the ambience via an interface in order to control the four senses. LED lighting systems within the car provide a variety of illumination and can change in harmony with different musical backgrounds, while a perfume diffuser fills the air with gentle, relaxing aromas.

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