Autoblog

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Whenever car design students tackle a project with as little direction as designing a "future eco-friendly automobile," you know that the designs will bear little resemblance to what's currently available. Still, when it's students from the Royal College of Art we're talking about, we should take note. After all, this is the same school that graduated the likes of Peter Horbury, Ian Callum, Martin Smith from Ford of Europe, Aston Martin's design director Marek Reichman and Peter Schreyer, Kia's current design head and the man behind the iconic shape of Audi's original TT.

The winner of the 2008 Pilkington Automotive Vehicle Design award was Pierre Sabas with his Airflow concept (shown above). Although the looks of the vehicle, with its entire exterior made from glass, are pretty far fetched, the in-wheel electric motors specified by the designer may have a future as many automakers are already exploring this idea for production. In contrast, Arturo Peralta Nogueras's concept uses non-existent "solid hologram technology" for the exterior along with an interior that evolves with its surroundings. We're sure that one's coming right around the corner. Thanks for the tip, Mike!


[Sources: Inhabitat, Wallpaper.com]

If Martin Smith – the designer of the new Mondeo and S-Max – has his way, the next Ford Focus in Europe will be drawing heavily from the styling of its upmarket siblings.

While we're stuck with the new Focus coupe that was unveiled earlier this year, European consumers will be getting a thoroughly reworked version of Ford's compact sedan. In addition to the Iosis-inspired sheetmetal, those lucky blokes across the pond will also benefit from a freshly styled interior, complete with a cabin control system inspired by the Human Machine Interface in the Mondeo.

If AutoExpress' crystal ball is to be believed, the new Focus may debut at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, with sales likely to begin sometime in 2008. If this particular five-door does become available, the hue and cry from those of us in the States will be heard yet again, and summarily dismissed by FoMoCo execs.

[Source: AutoExpress]