Beneath the streamlined glamour and shiny technology of the auto shows, an alternative automotive future is quietly taking shape. This month marked the opening of a waitlist for a very different kind of car, the Canoo. This LA-based start-up is quietly shifting perceptions of what urban transit actually needs to be, driven by function and available technology, rather than the raw, emotive aesthetics of brands.
‘Cars always have been designed to convey a certain image and emotion; however, we chose to completely rethink car design and focus on what future users will actually need. Thus, we came up with this loft-inspired vehicle,' says Richard Kim, who oversees design at Canoo. Kim’s career has been defined by the cutting edge. A former employee at BMW, where he was one of the core team behind the BMW i3 and i8 electric cars, from concept through to production, he also had a spell at Faraday Future, the bold but troubled start-up that never succeeded in launching a car.
The Canoo approach is far more modest, aiming at what customers want and need, rather than offering them up the ultimate in desirable design. ‘Two years ago, Canoo began with a simple question: ‘How can we make electric vehicles easier to access and a more sensible option for people living in cities?', the company states. Their LA location is an undeniable generator of ideas, for this is a city where traffic is a way of life. The car's living room like configuration and autonomous ability is aimed at making the most of this imposed daily downtime.
Up the coast, another start-up has similar ideas. Only this time, the backing is more conventional. Cruise is General Motors' autonomous car division, a San Francisco-based studio that wants to absorb its high-tech surroundings. Cruise's first concept, unveiled this week, is the Origin, another lozenge-like living room on wheels that's due to begin testing soon. Canoo, on the other hand, is already inviting Angelenos to become early adopters and sign up for ownership free transit.
Cruise Origin in San Francisco’s cultural district
Canoo Design
INFORMATION
-
Kimy Gringoire's heart-shaped cables make for streamlined jewellery designExpanding and evolving her 2021 collection, Kimy Gringoire's new pieces reflect the duality of love
-
Art Deco architecture turns 100; take our world tour of its lesser-known marvelsArt Deco architecture can be found across the globe, a 20th-century genre that influenced all building scales and typologies; and its centenary this week inspired our world tour of lesser-known gems
-
In Gstaad, a seasonal restaurant takes alpine dining to new heightsMonti nods to regional craftsmanship with furniture carved from locally-sourced elm and a seasonal menu from chef Martin Göschel
-
Our pick of the reveals at the 2025 New York Auto Show, from concept SUVs to new EVsInterest in overseas brands remained strong at this year’s NY Auto Show despite the threat of tariffs designed to boost American-owned brands
-
Mercedes-Benz previews its next-gen people mover with an ultra-luxury EV conceptThe Mercedes-Benz Vision V Concept is an art deco picture palace on wheels, designed to immerse passengers in parallel worlds as they travel
-
2025 Seoul Mobility Show report: all that's new and notableOpened at a time of high national drama, the 2025 Seoul Mobility Show has gone on to underscore Korea’s place at the cutting edge of the auto industry. Guy Bird was there
-
Meet the final drivable prototype of the Telo MT1 pickup truck, shaped by FuseprojectThe Telo MT1 is a modestly scaled EV that turns the traditional all-American approach to pick-up truck design on its head
-
EV start-up Halcyon transforms a classic 1970s Rolls-Royce into a smooth electric operatorThis 1978 Rolls-Royce Corniche is the first fruit of a new electric restomod company, the Surrey-based Halcyon
-
China’s Leapmotor pounces on the European car market with its T03 city car and C10 SUVLeapmotor’s tiny electric city car could be just the tonic for cramped urban Europe. We sample the T03 and its new sibling, the fully loaded C10 SUV, to see if the company’s value proposition stacks up
-
Wallpaper* takes the wheel of the Bentley Blower Jnr for a rich automotive experienceHedley Studios has shrunk the mighty Bentley Blower into this all-electric, road-legal barnstormer. We take it to the streets of London
-
We are the world: Pininfarina’s ‘Orbis’ taps Papal support for an eco-friendly agendaThe Orbis is a ‘symbolic object’, a gift to Pope Francis from the Italian design agency at a time of political upheaval and social fracture around all aspects of sustainability
