www.autoanddesignmagazine.com:
The design studio over at Fuchs AG has just revealed the first sketches of what is to become the company's first electric car. To learn more we went to Hamburg and the Fuchs Design Studio to meet up with senior designer Gino Bruno.
He begins by explaining the motto of the design process: "the supermini reborn".
- We're very passionate about the supermini as a concept, says Bruno while showing us around the design studio. The walls are full of posters of small cars from the past, from the original Fiat 500, to the Morris Mini, to the Peugeot 106.
- These days even the small cars are actually quite big, you never see really small cars in production anymore. And the small vehicles that are produced, well I wouln't call them cars. There's nothing passionate about them, they're merely cheap platforms for transportation. So from our point of view we wanted to sit down and actually design a proper car.
Mr. Bruno stops by the coffee machine and asks us what we would like. We're asking for an espresso and Bruno himself gets a cappuccino. We then sit down by a big table next to a huge panoramic window; immediately outside is the majestic foliage of Planten un Blomen - the huge park just north of the city center.
- Nature is a great source of inspiration for us, admits Bruno. We want our cars to blend in with nature, not only as objects but also in spirit. We want to develop the relationship between the human and the car, in a similar way as the relationship between the human and the horse. You know, in the debate it's not rare for the car to be put against the nature, like we would have to make a choise, either we get the car or we get nature. This is something that we don't agree with, and this is why it's so important for us to develop a sustainable relationship. This is partly why we have chosen to develop this as an electric car - the other reason is actually also closely linked to the nature, and it's of course the silence of the car. You know, when a fox runs around in the woods it's not making a lot of noise - it's quiet!
We ask Bruno about the technical aspects of the electric drivetrain and immediately he says that if it hadn't been for Tesla Motors releasing their patents into public domain this wouldn't have been possible, not for such a small company as Fuchs AG.
- 90% of the electric drivetrain, including battery and charging technology, is based on Tesla patents.
Our day at the Fuchs Design Studio has come to an end, and as we walk to the nearest subway station the sky rumbles with mighty thunder.