To the Emkoo SUV, presented at the end of April, GAC Motor entrusts its rebirth after a couple of turbulent years. “Guided by the new Hi-tech Industrial Aesthetics design concept – says Fan Zhang – we have designed a car that takes us into the future. With clear lines of character, a dynamic posture and a hi-tech design, it has reconstructed the paradigm of future automotive design in the age of intelligence.”
Four design centres
Fan, with a past in Mercedes (his were the exteriors for the A-Class concept) has been for eleven years at the head of design of the GAC Group (Guangzhou Automotive Group Company), which in addition to its original joint-ventures and GAC Motor now also comprises the GAC Aion brand, intended for “new energies”, and has four design centres: Guangzhou(Headquarter or HQ), Shanghai, Los Angeles and Milan.
Investing in the future
“Emkoo is a look into the future,” says Fan, who then explains that he had no alternatives. “In Europe and America design is not evolving rapidly, but it can rely on the legacy of the past. Instead, we are a new brand and we can only rely on what’s new, so we have to invest in the future.”
The beltline as an arrow
Emkoo is “a very bold and innovative design, stronger than the average, something unique to offer to our customers”. The front a little low, the rear a little high, he explains; and then the light clusters which, seen in profile, look like the tip of an arrow, the character lines from the bonnet to the side revealing a theme dubbed “Recurve Kinetics”, the beltline as an arrow, the low crease and the C-pillars reminiscent of a taut bow.
Holistic grille
According to Fan, the uniqueness of Emkoo lies for example in the grille: “No longer a large lamellar opening, but something holistic, without clear boundaries, with two-dimensional elements and parametric lines; while the optical groups – a very important detail in today’s cars – are made up of small rectangular elements that light up independently, with an animation that creates a kind of light show. This car is much more than a means of transportation: we have given a new function to sounds with the help of a musician who has been able to blend cyber sound and Chinese tradition.”
A motif inspired by the circle
The powerful and muscular exteriors are contrasted by the refined and simple interiors, “characterized by refinement, sensuality and rationality”. Developed by Bolun Wang, Qin Li, Di Zhou, Shuobin Wang and Yajie Fang, with C&T entrusted to Qianqian Ren and Mingpu Ruan, they are very “Chinese” for the introduction of a motif inspired by the circle, which in the local millenary tradition expresses sublime perfection and that in this hi-tech interpretation combines serenity and functionality. There is enthusiasm in GAC. “We are living the best and the worst moment in the history of the car,” Fan observes: “The best because we are not afraid to try new things, in the context of a China that has become the new arena of innovative design; the worst because we have to do it and this is exhausting. Without a past, we must push ourselves into the future.”
(Full article in A&D n. 255)
