When the output of your design team and engineers start to feel uninspired, a fresh perspective might help kickstart their creativity. What some carmakers do is tap into the budding skills of students who may have some ideas to throw out there. Therefore, the Royal College of Art (RCA) unveils the entries for the Lexus 2040: the Soul of Future Premium program.
20 postgraduates from RCA’s Intelligent Mobility Design Centre submitted their proposals. After some deliberation, it was narrowed down to six finalists whose visionary works have been deemed fascinating by the organizers. Also, the Lexus 2040: the Soul of Future Premium event will take place at the school’s new Battersea campus.
Design bigwigs from Toyota’s luxury arm will provide guidance and support along the way. They include Lance Scott and Ian Cartabiano. RCA faculty members Dr Chris Thorpe and Professor Dale Harrow are likewise around to help out.
Here are their submissions. Bangning An presents the 2040 Lexus Vision In-Season – a color-changing ride that dynamically adapts to the season. Next is the ALTO by Richard Newman – a personal flight platform for a future where aviation is accessible for everyone.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Miller gives us the Crucible — a hydrogen-electric transport that looks like a pod on wheels as his entry for the Lexus 2040: the Soul of Future Premium. The Lexus NEKO is one of the more visually interesting rides which touts a wire-frame body submitted by Jan Niehues.
Maxime Gauthier envisions is a compact mobility machine that can link with others of its kind he calls the UrbanSwarm. Finally, there’s the Lexus #Units from Zhenyu Kong – a tripod-looking silhouette that can seat one. These are the six contenders for the Lexus 2040: the Soul of Future Premium top prizes.
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Images courtesy of Lexus
