Transport

Tom Henwood has spent a lifetime around automobiles, a kit car built during his youth having inspired his ongoing obsession with DIY automotive design. Henwood’s RCA project, SINO, focuses on retaining emotional attachment to cars. ‘In an internet generation where gadgets are becoming so integrated in our daily lives, I fear we may lose a love and respect for the way things work,’ says Henwood. The SINO project is intended to instil a love of making and creating in the car buyer of the future. An electric kit car, it combines a rolling chassis with 3D-printed elements. www.behance.net/thenwood

(Image credit: TBC)

Our picks of this year's transport design talent dream of sleek ‘cleanline’ forms and sci-fi futures

Writer: Jonathan Bell

Germany Pforzheim University Samir Sadikhov

Samir Sadikhov grounded his final-year project in reality, creating a fast-back sports wagon for Ford. ‘It expresses the original brand philosophy,’ he explains. ‘A Ford is a car for everyone, but Henry Ford also had a passion for racing.’ The advanced Sports Wagon comes out of deep research, deriving form from Ford’s 1960s-era racers, Howard Hughes’ aeroplanes and the company’s current design language. Citing Marcello Gandini as his favourite designer, Sadhikov brings glamour to the family car, dovetailing memories of 1950s station wagons in a sleek ‘cleanline’ design. www.samirsadikhov.info

Sweden Umea Institute Of Design Yuhan Zhang

Yuhan Zhang’s work crosses the boundaries between architecture and automotive design. A far-future concept for the year 2050, this experimental Volvo interior imagines a world where cars are detached from their wheels, which exist as a shared resource. When not being used for transport, the interior can function as an extension of your living space. ‘I’m a sci-fi fan,’ admits Zhang, citing the work of the Eameses and Peter Eisenman as inspiration. ‘In the future there may be more flexibility,’ she says. ‘Changing a vehicle’s interior may be as simple as changing a cellphone case.’ www.yuhan-zhang.com

Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.