Tokyo 2015: Toyota Kikai encapsulates growing anti-digital trend
The concept that celebrates the art of engineering
Maybe it’s because our lives are now so dominated by the digital realm into which cars are increasingly being led, or perhaps it’s a last hurrah for the internal combustion engine, but there is a growing trend towards designs that strip back cars to expose the raw mechanical elements beneath the skin.
The Honda Project 2&4 that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show is a good example, although perhaps its reasoning is more closely linked to its development by a motorcycle studio than to any wider societal commentary, but the Kikai is a proud bastion of ‘car as machine’.
It’s a car that’s best viewed in bite-sized chunks – its overall form is hardly inspiring and it’s far bigger than seems appropriate, largely dictated by its three-abreast seating. But the detail execution of its components is superb. From its fabulously cast and polished front suspension components to its exposed fuel filler neck it’s a celebration of engineering as industrial design that feels entirely appropriate for a company that is arguably the leader in engineering.
But perhaps the most pleasing aspect is that engineering and design have become inexorably linked – its front suspension arms form its scowling front graphic, while it’s impossible not to see the composition of its rear aspect without seeing a friendly face.
This is a car that many will dismiss as an irrelevance, but look closer and there are very interesting lessons to be learnt.