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Design round-up: 20 years of Qashaqai; AUDI's Shanghai tech centre; Kia experiments with clay
Car Design News looks at news that may have gone under the radar, including the latest updates from Nissan, AUDI, Kia and people news
20 years of the Qashqai
Nissan is celebrating 20 years of the ever-popular family crossover.
Design director Matthew Weaver reflected: "At the time we had SUVs and we had hatchbacks and this was something in between. You have to really go back to remember that there was nothing like it on the roads at that time. I remember my manager at the time said to me: 'This is not SUV down, this is car up'. For me, that really sort of summed it up. It was something different, something away from the aggressive SUVs. It was something approachable that could be used. It could fit in the urban environment. It really helped me sort of place what Qashqai became."
In celebration, a wide range of original photos have been released detailing the design process of the Qashqai, which you can browse in our image gallery below (including a great image of the 2004 Qashqai concept).
Full release here.
Audi opens Shanghai technology centre for AUDI brand
Together with SAIC, the AUDI Innovation & Technology centre will act as the central development hub of the AUDI brand. The centre will also lead on the development of China-specific models.
Local development and fast decision-making were cited as two of the reasons for the AITC to open. While primarily engineering and AI-focused, CDN wonders what the impact of shorter development cycles will be on design.
Full release here.
Game, set, clay for Kia
As a tribute to Rafael Nadal’s 63 single titles won on the iconic Paris clay at Roland-Garros, Kia has created a full-scale clay concept of the EV4 GT using a mixture of automotive clay and tennis court clay.
White automotive tape has been added to reflect a tennis court’s lines as well as small lettering on the front and rear to signify his titles.
What’s next, we wonder. A clay model of Nadal?
Full release here.
People news
Avinash Kumar has joined Czinger Vehicles as automotive visualisation designer.
Sean Sung-Huem Paick has joined General Motors as senior lead designer.
Pierre Leclercq joins Opel-Vauxhall as head of design
Sandeep Bhambra joins Citroen and DS as head of design
