A Touch of Flower Power
STRÄHLE + HESS Develops Trends for Geneva Motorshow / Spirit of the Age is Reflected in Mitsubishi’s Electric Car.
Althengstett (k-w). A cheerful appearance is rounding the final curve into the automotive world: the new iMiev from Mitsubishi. Particularly the interior creates a positive and colorful impression, with a touch of Sixties’ flower power, while the entire car is tuned into the spirit of today’s age. For this first electric car going into serial production and becoming widely available to consumers, the creative team at STRÄHLE + HESS was again one of the midwives. “It stands for the transformation of values toward a more humane world, away from the throw-away mentality and egotism of recent decades,” says CEO Kirsten Schönharting. And it stands for sustainability.
The innovative enterprise created the cabin interior, which will be on view for the first time beginning March 2, 2011 at the 81st International Motorshow in Geneva, for the Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht. Colorful topstitching and large motifs in playful variations of black, red, and yellow are an invitation to the iMiev driver to enjoy the vehicle, suggesting the happy mood of a holiday in St. Tropez. This exuberant style emerges from a symbiosis of textile and leather realized by the design team at STRÄHLE + HESS together with the colleagues from SCHÄFER-OESTERLE.
“We have translated the positive attitude of the young 21st century into the lightness that will determine the future of cabin interiors for electric cars,” says chief designer Claudia Khalil about the sixth concept car interior she has drafted for rinspeed. The future trend 2012 reflects the same process of blending that affects human feelings in a multicultural society: cultural styles are combined into a new overall context. At the same time, there is a need to reinstate traditional values and credibility that form the basis for human contentment.
The exterior hues of the new model, which glides along with a whisper, animated the designers to create their variations of black, red, and yellow for the interior surfaces and seats. There is unprecedented daring in the large floral motifs that lend the “iMiev pop” its casual and relaxed flair: no systematic pattern in the placement of the designs. Quite the contrary, the large flowers stitched in varying depths seems to be arbitrarily arranged, as if drawn by an artist, making this car so individual. The materials used are knitted bamboo and black leather.
And the world’s first serial production electric car also has a twin. Where the bright flowers of the "iMiev pop" interior come across as sassy and feminine, bold seams and zestfully curved lines give its twin, the "iMiev wave", a forceful masculine note. The designer accentuates the masculine line with bright shades of red. In contrast to the flowers of the “ iMiev pop“, here the seats are topstitched all over in a bamboo motif, giving the interior a steadier look reminiscent of tropical bamboo stands. A powerful wave of stitched lines swells across the side doors, lending additional emphasis to the oval form of the industrial design.
While the dashboard of the Mitsubishi twins was consciously kept neutral, the middle console in quality leather forms a contrast. The columns covered in silver cloth appear metallic and reinforce the technical statement of the material.
< Press releases