Changan Ultraefficient Vehicle by Marin Myftiu and Antoine Alaurent

Design Team: Marin Myftiu, Antoine Alaurent, IAAD Istituto d'Arte Applicata e Design /
Transportation Department.
Location: Torino, Italy.

The Changan UV (Ultraefficient Vehicle) is a concept that not only comes up with innovative, practical solutions based on near-future technology and expectations; it also strives to use them in the most efficient and practical way, articulating an all-new design semantics based on clear, subtle geometry and light traces. The final result is a vehicle with a bold, minimalistic look, reduced physical and environmental footprint and countless, exciting futures ahead.

The UV combines innovative, state of the art technologies and composite materials to deliver the best user experience at the best energy cost and lowest environmental footprint. With a length of slightly  more than three meters, four-five seat setup and autonomous driving it offers the perfect package for both the city and short highway trips, balancing practicality and comfort in a global and local context.

Rational Design and Strata

The roof ring also houses a collapsible structure which is meant to expand similarly to a folding cup. This structure, combined with the overhead membrane, will serve as an overhead trunk, using only vertical space and having the advantage of being totally inside the car.

Package: 2+3 (2 children) or 1+3 adults

Using 2+1 seat layout, with two seats at the sides and one slightly recessed in the middle, a 6 seat layout could have easily been achieved with length of just 3100 mm. For practical and aerodynamic reasons however, the front part of the cabin had to be more aerodynamic, mainly for highway use, ending in an almost triangular roof and anyway the weight of six adults would compromise performance and range in such a small footprint, so the UV can ultimately sit 4 adults (in a 1+3 layout) or 5 persons (3 adults + 2 children) in a 2+3 layout.