Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin presents their 'emotional hybrid' - beON
At the 77th International Geneva Motor Show the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin presents the emotional hybrid “beON”, designed by the Master RSP in Transportation Design – work experience, and the three winning thesis projects created together with McLaren Automotive by the Three year post-high school Transportation design – car design course.
The Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin, one of the top car design training institutions in the world, is giving a preview of “beON”, the real size concept car, designed by the students of the 4th RSP Master in Transportation Design, as well as offering this years audiences the opportunity to get another look at “M eleven B”, “Manta” and “MP 11”, the three models that were awarded prizes by McLaren Automotive as part of the thesis project developed by students in the 3-year post-high school Transportation Design course 2005-6.
For the fourth consecutive year the IED Turin has confirmed its record of being the only School in the world to take part in the Geneva International Motor Show, the highest point of the Institute’s designing and creative process.
The scale model (3860 mm long, 2100 mm wide, 1600 mm high, wheel base 2750 mm) stems from the decision to concentrate the research efforts of the Master course student on the search for a solution that might marry style with technology, hybrid propulsion with excitement. The result is a state of the art ecological vehicle with the potential to turn the dream of an unpolluted world into reality, without sacrificing the thrill of driving.
Taking as its starting point the problems connected to the nature of hybrid vehicles and their 'somewhat unappealing image', the project set itself the challenge of creating a model that was not just “useful” but also aesthetically sophisticated, with startling lines and heightened potential, that might provide these kinds of technologies with greater visibility and appeal.
The 19 students, led by the master coordinators Carsten Astheimer, Head of Design at Brunswick Boat Group and Luca Borgogno, a Pininfarina Designer, have come up with a concept car that clearly voices the ideas of freedom and movement, developed around a structure conceived to represent excellence in terms of functionality and originality. The vehicle, a two seater off-road sports car, has been designed to travel over deserts, beaches and wild terrains, as well as negotiating the urban jungles, offering its passengers the best interior comfort together with the opportunity of enjoying the view outside the cockpit; it’s ideally suited for travel in extreme conditions, allowing nature to be experienced with the maximum freedom and in the most adventurous way.
The flowing exterior, embracing and protective like soft skin, changes shape and colour, creating empty spaces that emphasize the lightness and thorough enjoyment to be gained from the car. The see through sun-roof, made of glass and plexiglass, adds to the feeling of being completely immersed in the surrounding environment. For the mechanics, the choice has fallen on a hybrid thermal-electric engine connected to a very special hydraulic transmission system placed within each wheel hub. This ingenious combination ensures excellent off-road performance and seeing as it can also act as a break, it means that the traditional disk and calliper breaking system can be completely eliminated.
The model is the result of a complex selection process that included a number of different stages: out of the initial eighteen individual proposals, nine were then chosen to be produced in 1:4 scale models. The students worked on these as pairs or teams of three. A technical panel headed by the engineer Lorenzo Ramaciotti and made up of Dott. Giuliano Molineri, Frimark President, the engineer Costanzo Berta, Aerodynamics, aero-acustics and bodywork experimentation expert, Dott. Arrigo Gallizio, Segno Milano President, and the Master coordinators, was subsequently responsible for supervising the final selection that led to the choice of the final model, and also made suggestions as to possible ways in which the car could be further developed.
“beON” is a project devised by: Jaywant Bharat Bhalla (India), Abhijeet Bhoge (India), Rishabh Chaturvedi (India), Anindya Dutta Roy (India), Pablo José Gaido (Argentine), Jesús González Torres (Mexico), Andrey Gusev (Russia), Matteo Krzanowski (Italy), Nemanja Lalicic (Serbia), Vincenzo Langella (Italy), Aldo Meli (Italy), Giorgio Olori (Italy), Emre Ozbilgin (Turkey), Jim Patané (Canada), Cagri Ahmet Selcuklu (Turkey), Gopal Tamaskar (India), Yogesh Yadav (India) and Sinan Yogunali (Turkey).
The following took part in the project as tutors: Alessio Minchella and Dario Olivero, ex IED students.
The model was created in collaboration with: Automotive Lighting, Model Resine, OZ Racing, Pirelli, Weiss S.p.A. (KONI shock absorbers).
Peugeot will reveal the EX1 concept at its showroom on the Champs Elysees on 29 September. Created to celebrate the French automaker's 200th anniversary but also to highlight the possibilities offered by electric power in creating new driving sensations, the two-seat ultra-light EX1 concept is cloaked in a highly aerodynamic body, which, paired with two electric motors generating 340bhp, has already enabled the concept to break two world records for acceleration. 
The monocoque a carbon/honeycomb composite body is based on a 'water droplet'-shaped architecture, with the car's rear section built around two closely set rear wheels. Peugeot says the roadster's aesthetic – which incorporates design cues first seen on the SR1 concept and reference the RCZ and BB1 – highlights the lightweight nature that guided the vehicle's creation. 
