Remember Engineering and Design AG (EDAG), the company that brought their Pontiac Solstice shooting brake conversion to the North American International Auto Show in January? The company made its presence known in Geneva, where it unveiled the wacky Biwak concept seen here.
Based on Volkswagen's New Beetle, the Biwak incorporates a more robust suspension and some interesting paint and interior textures that'd do Martha Stewart proud (the show car had a matte crinkle-finish paint with false patina added). With steel wheels, corrugated side paneling, auxiliary lighting and an externally mounted spare, the Biwak possesses a funky, minimalist utilitarian aesthetic. Said to have been inspired by the 'grunge movement' in the 1990's, the Biwak strikes us as nothing less than a modern-day VW Thing, even if we can't see Eddie Vedder or Chris Cornell tooling around Seattle in one of these 'em.
(Click through to the jump for five more photos and EDAG's press release)
[Source: EDAG]
The “EDAG Biwak” – a Derivative Concept with the Potential of a Volume Vehicle
For this new EDAG concept car, the classic, half-rounded beetle shape has been converted into an estate silhouette, creating extra room for various new professional and leisure applications. As well as offering the advantages of a marked increase in storage space and greater headroom for the back seat passengers, the the SUV light concept also provides more ground clearance, to enable the driver to take the vehicle off the road or race track. Practical and stylish: the rear door provides easy access to the luggage section. The new body design drawn up by the EDAG stylists and developed by the EDAG engineers has the potential for use in vehicles for volume production. The EDAG Biwak would be the ideal second car for a family, though it could just as easily prove popular as a stylish leisure vehicle for surfers or divers, or even do service as a delivery truck for crafts or tradesmen. The concept combines a multitude of requirements, making it attractive to a broad spectrum of customers. To demonstrate the industrial feasibility of the concept, EDAG’s development and production specialists have also worked out different manufacturing concepts for various quantities.
Trim Colour as Marketing Instruments
Geneva Version: “Patina instead of High Gloss”
To increase its appeal to the intended target groups, the EDAG design team have created a sophisticated concept for individual equipment and features. Johannes Barckmann explains: “By utilising clearly worked out colour and trim concepts, we can adapt the look of the EDAG Biwak to appeal to the various target groups – high gloss finish and chrome elements for the bank clerk; crinkle finish, steel rims and denim for the young rebel. By offering numerous alternative versions of the extras, we can satisfy the customers’ constant calls for individualisation.”
With the version for the Geneva Show, EDAG deliberately set out to produce a provocative exterior – the EDAG Biwak look was inspired by the spirit of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, and takes up a successful trend in the fashion branch.
A matt crinkle finish on the ourtside combined with natural leather and denim on the inside create a direct counterpoint to the usual high-gloss look of other new cars.
The crinkle finish lends the EDAG Biwak a used look, which brings the direct utility value of the vehicle very much to the fore. “We are giving the customer the freedom to make full use of the vehicle, dispelling his or her worries about that first, inevitable scratch in the paintwork,” is how Johannes accounts for the provocative trim colour concept.
In this case, the motto “patina instead of high gloss” is directed at a target group intent upon breaking with convention. Just one example of how colour and trim can be employed as marketing instruments.
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