Don’t make the mistake of saying that the latest addition to Lynk & Co, the Z10, is called Zee-ten. Oh, no: it’s called Zee-one-zero. Who knows, maybe it’s sexier. And perhaps it is better not to suggest to its designers that this Zee-one-zero is the straight commercial transposition of the splendid and innovative The Next Day concept presented two years ago (Auto&Design 256). The spirit is the same, they will admit, but the Z10 is a five-metre electric sedan (5.02, to be exact) while The Next Day was a compact and very sporty GT. “That one – says Stefan Rosén – was automotive haute couture, whereas this is an elegant sedan, whose style will last longer without that ‘wow’ effect that would have seemed too extreme to customers.”
Exploiting the concept’s design
The Next Day was the introduction of a new design by Lynk & Co, the Gothenburg-based Swedish joint venture of the Chinese Geely and Volvo (which in turn belongs to Geely). The Z10, however, represents a way of exploiting that design, while other cars such as the 07 and 08 recently presented, as explained by Rosén himself, President of Design at Lynk & Co, apply it in a different way: “The 07, for example, has an impressive beltline that kicks up to the C-pillars and makes it more dynamic, while the Z10 is much more sedate and mature. Yet, if you look at The Next Day, you find both those characteristics and they allow us to follow two different paths in production.”
Expression of a futuristic electric car
This pushes him to reiterate one of his deepest beliefs, namely that to be beautiful a car does not necessarily have to be simple, but can also be complex. The Chinese automotive landscape, he explains, is full of smooth and rounded surfaces: “Instead I say that we can have lines of character and remain not only elegant but also the expression of a futuristic electric car.”
“Complexity made simple,” says Ivo Groen, Head of Creative Design: “In this case the big challenge was to maintain the silhouette of a beautiful GT in a large sedan. We have maintained the scent and beauty of The Next Day, saving a balance of volumes on a completely different package. It was one of our most successful designs.” The concept, Rosén insists, “was quite extreme, here we tried to improve it. The five meters of length on the SEA (Sustainable Experience Architecture) platform helped us with the shape.”
Inspired by the emotion of the night
The Next Day – Rosén explained to us two years ago – was inspired by the emotion of the night in a big city like Shanghai, hence the symbolic two-tone paint: at the rear the blue of the night and in front the rays of the sun. “It was a beautiful narrative,” intervenes Katharina Jose, Head of CMF: “In the Z10 we did not use conceptual materials, but more traditional or classic ones. However, we faced that same transition in terms of colours, albeit in a less dramatic way. For example, by placing a pattern under a translucent material on the dashboard.”
Minimalist and horizontal dashboard
The interior is not banal either. A tasty and sporty steering wheel and the 15.4-inch central screen are the only interruptions to a minimalist and horizontally developed dashboard. There is much more on the central console, which provides certain tactile references that Rosén does not want to give up: “You can’t squeeze everything onto a screen, you need buttons and switches that require physical intervention, more convenient for the driver but also important to avoid making the design too boring.” Adds Groen: “Ergonomics also comes from designers, not just engineers.”
The ”black diamond”
The close collaboration of CMF contributes to the pleasant appearance: “For example – completes Jose – the choice of materials that adequately cover the sculpture of the doors and dashboard, or the vibrant colors that contrast the black of the roof.” The “black diamond” is what the designers call the pavilion: a tapered structure, resting on the soft central body, one of the character points of the Zee-one-zero. “An emotional car”, says Rosén: “The first electric Lynk & Co born from the Next Day Design Philosophy”.
(Full article in A&D no. 268)
