All articles by Nick Hull – Page 9
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Essay: LED lamps
LED lamps on cars have been around for over twenty years but have only recently featured as a technology used for front lamps. They first appeared in the mid-1980s for use in hi-mount stop lamps, but since then the Light-Emitting Diode (LED) has made steady inroads into replacing the conventional ...
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Design Review: Bertone Birusa concept
The wedge-shaped profile is characterised by a classic Bertone device - a dihedral-shaped side window with an undercut lower glass section, as featured on showcars such as the Boomerang and Carrabo. In the case of the Birusa, a bright highlight spear from the front wheelarch to the top of the ...
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Design Development: Kia Rio
The three-door model was developed at same time as the main five-door hatch model, as was the four-door sedan, which will be the main seller in the USA market. Debuting at New York show in April, the sedan has a sharply-cut DLO like the Sportage, a straight-through lower grille and ...
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Design Development: Kia Rio
Kia is a brand that's changing its image at an astonishing rate, led by a rapid roll-out of models such as the Optima, Sportage, Venga and new Picanto. The 2012 Rio is its latest new model and, although the outgoing model was somewhat overlooked in Europe, it was a best-seller ...
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Design Review: Jaguar R-D6 concept
At first glance, the R-D6 shows many similarities to the R-Coupe of two years ago, but size-wise it's closer to an Alfa 147 or Mazda RX8 at 4330mm long. The large 21" wheels, 2840mm wheelbase and short overhangs give a new proportion for a compact premium car, while the pronounced ...
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Design Review: Opel Trixx concept
VW and Opel's approaches to this conundrum over the last five years were very different, yet both failed. The VW Lupo offered all the fashionable Polo values in a smaller package but just cannibalised more profitable Polo sales.
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Design Review: Hyundai QarmaQ concept
The front end is a development of the Russelheim team's ideas from the Genus concept seen at Geneva last year, with a large hexagonal mouth sitting on a broad vertical surface. There's a heavy bar running across the center and a fine grille texture consisting of thin horizontal slats, topped ...
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Design Review: Hyundai QarmaQ concept
The QarmaQ concept was undoubtedly one the best showcars at Geneva this year, a testimony to how far Hyundai have come in design terms in recent years. It wasn't so long ago that Hyundai could be relied upon to produce some of the most overwrought concepts - remember the OLV ...
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First Sight: BMW 3 Series Coup�
BMW have released photos of the new 3 Series Coup�, which goes on sale in most markets this summer. Based on the new E90 3 Series launched last year, the third generation of compact coupe marks the introduction of the first ever twin-turbo petrol-powered engine in a production BMW as ...
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Design Review: Mitsubishi Concept-EZ MIEV
Mar 31, 2006 – Every so often one sees a design that you know is just ‘right’. The recipe is usually a combination of a good stance, beautifully resolved surfaces and strong graphics but there’s usually another ingredient: a heavy dose of really neat details that act to bind the ...
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Design Development: BMW 7 Series
BMW has showcased lightweight engineering principles on the 7 Series before, but the latest model takes this a stage further. The new vehicle comes with an aluminum roof bonded to a steel body. The hood, doors, front side panels and front spring supports are also made of aluminum. Did this ...
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Design Development: Jaguar XK
The basic design was showcased as the ALC concept at the Detroit Auto Show in early 2005. Although the ALC differed only in details - bumpers, lamps, bigger wheels, gills and textured aluminium inserts rather than wood on the interior - the feedback was very positive and paved the way ...
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Design Development: Jaguar XK
Three months later, a revised model was reviewed which met both conditions. The hood/fender shut line and outer corners of the headlamps were pulled right outboard close to the front wheel arch and the lift-back was cut deeply into the rear bumper. "The design has graphically harmonious lines that lead ...
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Design Development: Jaguar XK
The Jaguar XK8 has been a very successful model for Jaguar, selling at the healthy rate of around 10,000 a year over most of its nine year life. Conceived at a time when Jaguar were making huge losses, the XK8 - codenamed X100 - was a key model for Jaguar's ...
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Interview: Laurens van den Acker, Vice President of Corporate Design, Renault
At Mazda you inherited Nagare design from Moray Callum. How important is it for a brand like Renault to have such a specific form language?
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Interview: Laurens van den Acker, Vice President of Corporate Design, Renault
Replacing a long-time design chief is never easy. Patrick le Quement held the reins at Renault Design for 22 years and the succession was one of the most debated topics within the car design world in the period leading up to his retirement in 2009.
