| Whilst we applaud the ideas introduced through the
use of concept cars, isn't it about time that designers and engineers
reevaluated simplicity as a concept?
The majority of motoring icons have had clean lines and clever
thinking to achieve good looks and simple function.
Designers of today seem more obsessed with the latest design fads
rather than true beauty.
Engineers seem obsessed with filling our cars with electric motors
rather than showing lateral thinking to provide elegant solutions to new
requirements.
It's time to go back to basics. |
Hyundai's Tuscani Coupe has been greeted with much praise, no doubt due to
its clean lines appealing to European tastes. Whether the 'Clix' will receive
the same admiration is doubtful. The versatile engineering is worthy of
admiration but certainly not its looks.
Billed
as a 'FAV' - that's Fun Activity Vehicle, the Clix concept car is intended to
create a new market segment. The Clix 2+2 sports coupe is the brainchild of
Hyundai Motor Company’s European Design Centre in Frankfurt. Their philosophy
was to offer the driver and passengers the best of all worlds; the dynamic
handling and road holding of a sports coupe, with the versatility of a pick-up
or SUV – to create an FAV.
One of the most striking aspects of the Clix is its all-glass roof. It is
made up of four separate panels, and features a high-tech opening mechanism
powered by six motors – so it achieves a rapid transformation from coupe to
targa, then onto Cabriolet and finally to a pick-up, with the roof panels being
stored under the rear seats.
Power would come from a direct-injected, four-cylinder 2.2-litre petrol
engine, delivering 302bhp (!?). The car would be equipped with permanent
four-wheel drive, 19-inch alloy wheels, and a sequential six-speed transmission,
yet as usual there are no plans to produce the car.
