This concept previews a compact production coupé from Renault that would be a direct rival for the new VW Scirocco, so it was interesting to spot a couple of Renault designers looking closely at the VW, taking notes. Not that they need be too worried: if a couple of recent Renault concepts have been surprisingly disappointing, the Megane Coupé goes some way to establishing Renault Design back near the top of the pack in terms of concept cars, even if some of the ideas are developments of those seen on the previous Altica and Nepta concepts.
Renault has always been very active to explore new door hinge ideas on their concepts and the Megane Coupé takes things to a new level. Here, the upper door hinges up gullwing-style, while the lower bodyside dramatically hinges up on a massive cantilever from the rear seat headrests to reveal a bright Fire Red laquered inner sill that subsequently develops into the front and rear seat shells. The rear end is more characterful than the front and is notable for rear lamps comprising a pair of square tubes sitting within two air scoops in the rear fenders. The V-shaped rear window is fixed, while the trunk has a new action: it pulls open and then raises to minimize vertical lift, thus echoing the kinematics of the doors.
The interior is said to be influenced by contemporary furniture with instrumentation inspired by aviator-style watches. The IP can be divided into two sections: the red laquered main structure and black inserts which can store small items. The sides of the console feature a ribbed texture, echoing that of the headlamp modules. Seats are very deeply sculpted and finished in black nubuck leather, as are the door panels and the deeply-dished steering wheel. Carrying over from the interior, there are hints of red used on the exterior too, including the cantrails, foglamp surrounds and exhaust tailpipes, while the satin finish ‘Dragon Grey' body color is said to compliment the dragonfly doors.
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Saab first showed a 9-X concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2001, a sports estate car that introduced new Saab design themes. It was also the first new Saab designed under then recently-appointed Director of Design, Michael Mauer. The 9-X launched at Geneva yesterday shares its namesake's estate sports car conceptual design, but is GM Europe Design center's take on what a lower-medium Saab should be (using the 'Delta' platform in GM speak; as per the Opel Astra) .
Like the Saab 9-4X shown in Detroit, the 9-X is clearly close to production in its design intent, if not exact surface detail. At 4424mm long, 1382mm high, 1826mm wide, it is a useful 172mm longer than the conceptually-similar Volvo C30, which gives the car more of a sports 'shooting wagon' and less of a standard hatchback feel. This is helped also by the more upright tailgate and the near horizontal base line to the DLO. And this relatively deep DLO is perhaps the strongest feature of the design.
Speaking with Chief Exterior designer Boris Jakob about this aspect of the car, he told us: "Everyone is going for this wedgy, high belt line, but I'm not a big fan. I think you need a close relationship between the DLO and the rear wheel".
The interior also progresses themes we've seen before - notably in the Aero X - as well as introducing new ideas. Speaking to Richard Shaw, Chief Interior Designer, we learnt how the front seats are white and the rear dark gray because it gives more of an appearance of a two-seat sports car, which is how he envisages the car being used most of the time. One great detail, which is hard to see from any pictures, is the tiny 'turbo vane' motif of the white printed foil on the IP and door inners, which has a few metallic flakes imbedded to subtly catch the eye. Another is the way that metal ribs rise up slightly in the boot floor to act as sliders for luggage being loaded.
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Design Director Lowie Vermeersch said to us: "We like cars that are long and low". And the Sintesi is just that. At 4800mm long, it is slightly shorter than a Mercedes-Benz E-class, but at 1280mm it is slightly lower than a Porsche 911. The reason for this is not simply that the Pininfarina design team love long low cars, but because the design is based on 'liquid packaging' - which essentially means that the core technical elements may be separated and positioned all over the car.
The Sintesi has a central fuel cell spine whose shape helps create a long diffuser under most of the car, and an electric motor powering each wheel. This technical configuration allows passengers to sprawl out over the long cabin which is Chief Designer Fuiseppe Randazzo's take on modern luxury.
The core design innovations inside the car include black leather covers to the tops of the seat squabs which are otherwise made from 'Veltec', a material first seen on the Nido that allows items with Velcro fixings to attach securely. The seat backs are in white leather and unusually sweep forwards to connect to the center spine. The IP, which organically pushes out through the center of the bulkhead, has been rapid prototyped, and is the center piece to the interior. With its internal illumination it creates an ethereal feel to the whole interior.
The exterior form is curvaceous and has a hint of Pininfarina designs of the past, particularly in the air outlet vent atop of the front fender - similar to that of some Ferrari side air intake vents from over 30 years ago. And the side glazing that curves up into the roof and inset small window apertures also hint at classic Italian concept cars. But the overall form, in particular at the front and rear, is fresh and full of innovative details. This was undoubtedly one of the stars of the show.
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