For the fourth consecutive year, the students of the Istituto Europeo di Design, based in Turin, were present at the Geneva Motor Show, confirming their position once again of being the only school in the world to present at this prestigious event.

As with the previous two years in Geneva, the design school presented a full-scale concept model which stems from the decision to concentrate the research efforts of the Masters course students. After the realistic Fiat X1/99 back in 2005, and the radical Lancia Haizea from last year, the latest design, called beON, presents a more extreme vision which completely surpasses the boundary of current production cars. “It was created as such because we still have the freedom to do radical designs. Being a student project there were no production constraints, so we wanted to present a real concept vehicle,” explains student Pablo José Gaido, who was responsible for the chosen styling direction, at the show.

Based around a hypothetical alternative hybrid platform, the beON was designed by ninteen students completing the Turin school’s Master programme in Transportation Design. The project was coordinated by Carsten Astheimer, Head of Design at Brunswick Boat Group, and Luca Borgogno, who is a designer at Pininfarina. The beON is a two-seater off-road sports car, which is intended to travel over deserts, beaches and wild terrains, as well as partake in everyday city traffic.

The intriguing exterior design is characterised by its open wheels, visible chassis sections and large glass area. The complexity of the design called for intense modelling to achieve the final 1:1 scale model. “The complex form of the exterior meant that it had to be milled in sections, and then finished by hand. The undersides of the body were exceptionally complicated,” continues Pablo José Gaido.
 

Theoretically the car is driven by a hybrid thermal-electric engine, which is connected to hydraulic transmission systems placed within each wheel hub. As the hydraulic transmissions can also act as brakes, the traditional disk and calliper system has been eliminated.

The final beON design is the result of an intense selection process, which was formed out of multiple stages: the initial eighteen individual proposals where judged, with nine favourites then being chosen to be realised as 1:4 scale models. The students worked in pairs or in groups of three to create these models for the final selection, which was supervised by a technical panel headed by Lorenzo Ramaciotti and made up of Dott. Giuliano Molineri (Frimark President), Ing. Costanzo Berta (aerodynamics, aero-acoustics and bodywork experimentation expert), Dott. Arrigo Gallizio (Segno Milano President), as well as the Master coordinators. The panel not only selected the final model, but also made suggestions as to how the chosen concept could be improved and developed further.

Other work on the IED stand included three prize-winning 1:4 scale models from the McLaren sponsored design project which involved 39 third year students during the 2005-2006 year produce 14 different deign proposals. The aim of this design brief was to create a road-going super sports car capable of speeds over 320 km/h, which could offer the owner the highest level of Formula 1 technology in a road car featuring unbeatable dynamic and aerodynamic performance.

by James Granger