Dacia’s Manifesto concept inspires new approaches to design

Dacia’s new Manifesto concept was an exercise in tearing up the rule book according to design VP David Durand, who moved into the role in May.

This was not a concept that aimed to bridge the gap between two models in the portfolio, or a nod at how upcoming production models may look. The design team was instead given free rein to “go crazy” and reinterpret the marketing speak behind the brand’s long-term strategy: “essential, cool, robust, affordable and environmentally efficient.”

The resulting vehicle is striking, with no doors or windows, a single headlight that doubles as a handheld torch, and airless tyres. The silhouette is reminiscent of a lunar rover or an agricultural buggy that shuttles between field and farmhouse, but it is in fact inspired by adventure motorcycles. “I really liked this idea of translating an adventure bike onto four wheels. There is no filter between you and the outdoor elements. It is less about performance, and more about accessing difficult spots,” Durand explains. “We see Dacia as the ideal companion to get you to the start point of your activities – a Swiss Army knife that can be used as the base camp for a hike, to help monitor a national park, or take people to hard-to-reach places.”

“Robust” is the word Dacia has gone for, and it is hard to argue otherwise. This is a car with go anywhere, anytime principles designed for mountain passes and forest trails alike. And while there is no intent around performance, the Manifesto would not look out of place at the Paris Dakar rally.

There are some subtle nods to the Bigster SUV concept revealed back in January 2021. That paintwork is familiar, as is the chunky, hard-lined design language. “There are links between those two cars. We are pushing this new emblem and identity, and the colour is a big part of that,” says Durand. “We are not limited to green of course, but with this new wind of change in the brand we wanted a clear identity with the colour and with the bright white lights at the front. It is easily recognisable and has a big impact.”

While there are very few body panels on the Manifesto, its front end shares the same upper mask and grille combo of the Bigster. A narrow strip contains both headlights and light bar, with the ‘DC’ logo at the centre. (This distinctive new logo repeats throughout the concept – on the steering wheel, seat covers and on the B-pillar.) There are just two seats, each featuring padded covers that look as though they could double as duffle coats. (They are in fact removable sleeping bags, so not far off.)

The interior features an attractive mix of sage green and mustard yellow with royal blue accents on the racer-style seatbelts, storage rack and steering wheel. It is also fully waterproof and can be easily hosed down. Ahead of the dash sit two large storage bins, with another two behind the headrests. The rear deck features a work bench, although concept artwork suggests it would be used more as a laptop holder than a sawhorse.

Plastic surfaces contain primarily recycled material, dubbed Starkle, which gives pre-used polypropylene a second life. This material decorates the IP and steering wheel with an attractive terrazzo pattern. “We kept it natural – we didn’t want to paint it or hide it. We wanted to celebrate the material for what it is,” said Durand. That material started life with the Bigster concept but will in fact be carried through to production models in future.

A modular clipping system – which allows different devices and accessories to be hooked up in different areas of the interior – will also make it into production, most notably with the Duster in 2024. Cork is used elsewhere in the interior and any decorative chrome plating has been scrapped. For a deep dive on the Manifesto’s interior, make sure to check out a feature included in Car Design News’ long-running interiors-focussed magazine, Interior Motives.

The idea of using a vehicle to reconnect with the great outdoors has clearly gained traction among design circles. This year’s Magna Bold Perspective Award even carried this as its brief, and some designers shared similar visions of open-air buggies designed for camping adventures.

The Manifesto is a radical new approach for Dacia, a proper ‘concept’ car that pushes the boundaries of design. It is leagues apart from the existing Dacia line-up but with clear ties to the brand’s core values. But it could have been quite different. Some of the initial responses to the brief depicted a car with doors and windows and with no need for an interior mock-up, instead using painted black glass.

“The designers put forward lots of ideas, some proposals were more extreme, others more conservative. But once we saw these ideas of an open vehicle with a radical interior, we had to make up our mind quite quickly and begin the final mock up. On reflection, I was pretty surprised with how it turned out based on where we started.”

Durand also didn’t expect how the project would shake up the way the team operated. Time constraints pushed designers to make quick decisions and collaborate in new ways. A concept car like this would usually take a year to 18 months, but the Manifesto was ready in just six months. “As soon as you are faced with constraints, you are obliged to adapt and find new solutions, new levels of connectivity. It is about being agile – and we didn’t have time to overthink things,” says Durand “The mentality was just: ‘let’s do it.’ Everyone was highly motivated, and the result is a super fresh take on our core values.”

There was no physical mock-up ahead of the final rolling concept (the development of which is shown above), with design work carried out digitally and with augmented and virtual reality goggles (a fascinating yet polarising issue among designers). Teams at Dacia’s studio in Paris worked closely with the sister studio in Romania as a result. “The digital tools were super cool to work with because your virtual environment can include a guy based in a Bucharest suburb and someone from Technocentre in Paris at the same time,” Durand explained.

This adventure vehicle – a base camp on wheels – will never make it to production but it has inspired new ways of working and will see new products filter into the Dacia line-up at some stage. A success by any measure and arguably one of the more exciting concept cars of 2022.