BMW Motorrad’s scooter designs

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Sean Jackson

The BMW E-Scooter is a concept two-wheel vehicle with electric drive designed for mainly urban driving. With a 100km driving range, and only three hours to charge the battery on any regular household power socket, the scooter aims to be more versatile than many of the other electric scooters on the market.

The E-Scooter is one of the latest conceptual two-wheel urban mobility ideas to be developed at BMW Motorrad, a branch of the German marque dedicated to making individual single-track vehicles – as in motorbikes and scooters.

The E-Scooter doesn’t have a main frame. Instead, the aluminium battery casing, which also contains the electronic system required for battery cell monitoring, takes over the function of the frame. The steering head support is connected to it, as is the rear frame and the left-hand mounted single swing arm with directly hinged, horizontally installed shock absorber.

BMW Motorrad has also recently released the C 600 Sport and the C 650 GT premium maxi scooters available in the spring. The C 600 Sport is targeted at riders with sports ambitions, the C 650 GT is for customers who seek comfort and touring ability.

The C 600 has sporty, spartan panels – the lean tail with the dynamic upswing and emphatic body edges lends the vehicle a little lightness. The C 650 GT relies on a more organic design language. The emphasis here is on comfort with the generously sized panel parts offering protection against wind and weather.

The German carmaker recently announced a new design director, Edgar Heinrich, and hopes to expand the activities of BMW Motorrad further to look into other innovative urban mobility solutions.

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Interior solution: Family Dynamic

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Nargess

‘Current car interiors reinforce 1950s family dynamics with dad as boss and everyone else sitting there doing nothing. This is not how the modern family works nor is it the way we interact with one another in the home environment,’ says former Lego designer Adam Phillips. He is presenting Family Dynamic an interior design concept that expresses the needs of the modern family.

Designed as part of his graduate project in vehicle design at the Royal College of Art, the concept mimics the dynamics of the modern home. It has been designed as a range of modular components allowing the interior to be configured to suit the size of the family and their needs as well as evolve with its occupants through the different stages of their lives.

The designer explains: ‘Some areas are fixed but you can add more things and rearrange it to suite your needs. When the kids are young they will sit in the back, but as they get older they’ll probably move to the front and perhaps then take the car for the weekend.’ The rear turns into a mini caravan.

‘Kids are often more capable of working with computers and gadgets and therefore play an active role in the family,’ he continues. ‘This interior space is trying to facilitate that by not creating such an obvious break between the home and the vehicle. My design mimics life in the home, where the occupants have greater interaction.’

An extension of the family home it therefore carries through much of the living room’s aesthetic. ‘It is important for the car to have a similar texture to the home,’ notes Phillips. ‘We also have large expansive windows to open the space and so that kids don’t feel trapped and sick.’

There is flexible seating arrangement and a special interactive wall using digitally enabled glass that spans the length of the passenger space. It connects the occupants and allows them to collaborate through applications such as movies, gaming or communication.

‘The most negative thing is this fashion for MPVs that are like a sports car for the dad who likes to drive,’ says Phillips, adding, ‘but having a family is much cooler than being a boy racer.’

Phillips initially studied exterior design at Coventry University in the UK but soon changed directions to study toy design which lead to a job in Hong Kong as a toy robot designer. ‘I created one that is like a ten year old boy,’ he says. ‘I like the technology side but also the human side and this is what I didn’t get from the exterior.

‘I think the signs of change are already there in the automotive world,’ admits Phillips, noting: ‘The interior will become more interesting as the technology is there. It just needs to be implemented.’

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Read my report on Show RCA Vehicle Design published in Wallpaper*.

Read my other articles on vehicle designers from the RCA Show: Shared Transport Solutions, Anti Global Car and Monoform.

Monoform: A new expression of movement

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Nargess

‘I wanted to create something that talked and interacted with the city,’ says Fernando Ocana. ‘There is much more to car design than designing cars that look like their moving when standing still,’ notes the young Mexican automotive designer as he explains his concept Monoform.

The life size sculpture – around the same proportions as a Smart car – is tucked away in a separate darkened room at the Royal College of Art graduate vehicle design show. A screen is projecting a short film made by Ocana over its form.

This urban vehicle concept uses reflective glass and architectural shaping to encourage people to view their current environment from a different perspective – and by doing so proposes a fresh interaction between man and machine.

‘The point of this project is to add relevance to what we do,’ he continues as we watch London reflect back on us. ‘It stands as a point of view towards progressive mobility experiences that connect with the emerging philosophies of the twenty-first century, and speaks directly to those who feel alienated by the conservative symbolism applied to modern automotive design.’

Philip Glass is playing on the stereo. ‘This music is also about giving hope,’ notes Ocana. ‘There are a lot of people out there who are really annoyed with what we’re doing as car designers and I believe we need change, and change as a consequence of time. The future isn’t about looking back.’

A former General Motors automotive designer, he came to the RCA two years ago to find new solutions to what he saw as complete single mindedness and constant nostalgia in car design.

He concludes: ‘I’m not saying this is the future, but trying to give a new personal view.’

Read our report on Show RCA Vehicle Design published in Wallpaper*.
For more on this particular project visit Fernando Ocana.

Nargess Shahmanesh Banks

Read other reports on vehicle designers from Show RCA: Shared Transport Solutions, Family Dynamic and Anti Global Car.

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Tag Archives: Urban Mobility Solutions

BMW Motorrad’s scooter designs

Interior solution: Family Dynamic

Monoform: A new expression of movement