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When Richard Newman faced the challenge of Lexus and the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London to imagine what the vehicle in which we would move in 2040 would be like, he did so from two starting premises. First he considered what mobility is like today and then imagined what it would be like in 18 years. Newman reflected that cars are currently prohibited in city centers and that the alternative is public transport, mass public transport, far from what is a ‘premium’ experience, which is what a brand like Lexus is looking for.
The other option to escape overcrowding is to travel by bicycle or scooter, solutions conditioned by the weather, something very ecological that cannot be considered ‘premium’ either.
This led Newman to envision a vertical takeoff and landing craft as a future mobility solution. A ship with a non-polluting fuel such as hydrogen.
The winner of the Lexus challenge imagines that in 2040 humans will wear technology implanted in their bodies and will be hyper-connected, which will allow us to move efficiently. The solution is to live in the clouds, according to Newman. From there it is born, ALTO. A bubble that resembles a hot air balloon and was selected among six finalists in the Lexus 2040: the Soul of Future Premium program. The project challenged postgraduate students at the university’s Intelligent Mobility Design Center (IMDC) to explore new vehicle architectures to meet changes in European city life and society and reimagine the role Lexus could play. as a luxury mobility brand.
ALTO is a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) vehicle powered by hydrogen, its hanging shape is inspired by hot air balloons and plant terrariums. Newman describes the vehicle as “a jewel in the sky, like a pendant from a cloud,” with a customizable exterior. The functionality of the design also allows for seamless attachment to the side of buildings when traveling home, to work or to places of entertainment.
“I wanted to create something that was quite challenging, that would raise some eyebrows, but also make people smile,” explains Newman, from Coventry, UK. “It turned out to be quite an organic design process and the changes I needed became quite apparent as the program went on, with input from the Lexus designers.”
six month program
The six-month program included mentoring and evaluation sessions with Ian Cartabiano y Lance Scottrespectively President and Senior Manager of Lexus European Design Studio, ED 2, together with Professor Dale Harrowpresident of IMDC, and Dr. Chris Thorpe, director of RCA. Head of the Intelligent Mobility Program. They were joined on the judging panel by author and design commentator Nargess Banks and senior representatives from Lexus Europe to select the winner. In addition to the winner, there was praise for two finalists: Zhenyu Kong (China) for “Lexus #Units” and Ben Miller (Canada) for “Crucible.”
Lance Scott notes that all of the designers have impressed them “with their thinking, their ideas, and the breadth of their imagination.”
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