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For CDN, this was the star of the show, in terms of creativity of ideas and genuinely new thinking about an approach to car design. C-Cactus is an ecological car that includes a significant proportion of recycled or recyclable materials and, like the plant it is named after, it is very low on consumption with a hybrid HDi drivetrain. Yet it is not a small car. Talking to Car Design News, Gilles Vidal, head of concept cars, said: "The Logan is low cost but tries to be a real car, but with C-Cactus we took a totally different approach centered on essential values and a distinctive 'Manga Bulldog' stance".
The exterior has a theme of chunky rounded elements such the lamps, wheel slots and front bumper intakes. As on many previous Citroens, the beltline is interrupted as it moves along, this time by the rounded door handles that sit on top of the simple unpainted steel doors. The rear lights, which resemble the headlamps in shape, boast three innovative features: like several other concepts here, they are covered by the tailgate glass; the ring of LEDs allows the driver see through them and they feature a myriad of embedded microdots that shine when edge-lit.
The interior boasts a wealth of innovative features including seats with a moulded, integral-skin foam covering and use of felt, cork and recycled leather parts. Door panels consist solely of one part, with decorative patterns cut out and backed with felt. Like the Renault Altica and Nissan Bulldog concepts, there's no conventional IP, just a simple cylindrical aircon unit (that doubles as center console) and a support for the touch screen that controls most interior functions.
Design Development story coming soon...
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Like the Kuga, this is not so much a concept as a near-production-ready preview of the next Fiesta. The Verve sees Ford's 'kinetic design' language applied to a small car, and in many ways the downsizing in scale and slight toning-down of the elements improves the impression of design quality considerably.
There are nice surprises in surface quality in many places such as the lower door and sill area and the characteristic diving undercut shoulder line continues as a positive feature line into the bumper area.
At the front, the new clamshell treatment for the hood and headlamps that sweep back over the front wheel are matched by a trapezoid grille that, while big, is also refined and doesn't overwhelm the front end as much as some rival products. The big rounded tailgate at the rear is flanked by dark tail lamps that continue the sweep of the DLO top line, while a pair of center exhaust outlets reside in lower diffuser beneath the bumper.
Speaking to CDN, Exterior Chief Designer Stefan Lamm was fulsome in his praise for the design teams in Germany and UK who jointly worked on the project. "Verve concept symbolises our ambition to be a leader in small car design and create individual cars for individual customers, just we have with the new S-Max and new Mondeo" he said. The nice use of a strong lipstick magenta body color, picked up in the tire coachline and interior detailing, also helps to set it off.
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It's tempting to dismiss the new A4 as a mild reworking of the successful outgoing model but this is car that pays dividends when seen up close. The design quality demonstrated here is of the highest order and justifies the price premium over, say, an equivalent Passat. In essence, much of the front end follows a similar theme to the A5 coupe, although every panel is slightly different. The characteristic shoulder line here is a small undercut, whereas that on the A5 steps out. Aficionados will have to rely on the wavy lower line to the headlamp to distinguish the A4 from an A5 when seen head-on.
Indeed, lamp technology is a major focus of Audi design these days and the new strategy of using a unique LED graphic for each model in the range is taken a step further here. The added perceived value - as seen on the A4 - is very tangible, with beautifully crafted silvered wings in the lamp reflector and an advanced-looking wave of LEDs in the middle of the lamp that mask the inner high beam bulb - a theme that's also repeated for the tail lamp.
The beltline and shoulder line do not rise as strongly as it has in the previous A4 and both now drop off slightly towards the rear, to give a more relaxed stance to the car. This is especially noticeable when sitting in the rear of the car where the extra space and lower beltline mean that four adults can finally be accommodated in an A4 in real comfort, aided by A6-like airvents to the rear and decent door pockets too. The IP and front of the cabin is basically shared with the A5 and includes such niceties as an electric parking brake and high-mounted sat nav screen, as on the bigger A6 model.
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