Karl Smith looks back at the move by some designers to deploy a central driving position, an interesting trend that never really caught on beyond specific niches
It was the surprise hit of the 1980 Paris Motor show, a wedgy coupé with pyramidal glasshouse that had seemed, appropriately, like an automotive emissary from the future. It was the Citroën Karin, a late entry into the wedge wars of the 1970s. But what it lacked in punctuality, it made up for in its exotic form.
As the Karin doors opened for the assembled show attendees, the dramatic interior of the car was revealed. And there, in the centre, was the steering wheel, with a driver’s seat that sat slightly forward of two flanking passenger seats. Asked about the two seats, the designer, Trevor Fiore, joked that…
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As the all-electric Renault 5 E-Tech breaks cover at the 2024 Geneva Show today, we can share details from our private visit to Renault’s Technocentre design studio in early February, with head of design Gilles Vidal in charge of the show-and-tell
Car Design News looks at some of the design stories that may have gone under the radar over the last week, including news from BYD, Karma, Kia, Lancia, Nissan, Peugeot and more
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