Once a year, the world's best designers compete for honours at the Los Angeles Design Challenge. Shane O'Donoghuereviews the latest event and looks forward to the future of the car
Volkswagen's Slipstream is a single-occupant and highly advanced autonomous vehicle that adapts its stance according to road conditions - travelling in an upright orientation when in an urban setting (to reduce its footprint) and tilting to the horizontal when out on the open road to minimise drag and improve aerodynamics. It can reach speeds of up to 400km/h thanks to a pair of adjustable rear fins that act just like the tail section of a plane.
You may have gathered that the Slipstream is not quite ready for your local VW dealer.
In fact, it doesn't even exist as a concept car to entertain motor show visitors.
The Slipstream - along with the seven other outlandish designs - was a finalist in the latest LA Design Challenge, entitled Robocar 2057. The teardrop-shaped pod, which went on to win the competition, was penned by a team led by Derek Jenkins, chief designer at Volkswagen of America. The participation of the top-level designers from Los Angeles in this competition lends it considerable gravitas.
Now in its fourth year, the Design Challenge forms part of the Design Los Angeles car designers' conference that runs alongside the LA Motor Show.
More than 500 designers attended the conference in November.
Finding that many car designers in Los Angeles is remarkably easy, as the region lays claim to the largest concentration of manufacturer design studios in the world - with 15 in a 200 kilometre radius, including European and Asian car makers, as well as the home-grown US brands.
Traditionally, Detroit has been the automotive hub of North America, earning it the title "Motor City", but LA is catching up quickly.
Until a few years ago, the Detroit Motor Show was the only automotive exhibit in the States worth travelling to for the world's media, but there's been a gradual shift away from it.
In 2006, the LA show changed its date from the same week as the Detroit event in January to mid-November and it is gaining significance at a notable rate.
California may not house as many production lines as Michigan, but the sunnier region is an acknowledged cultural hub, where innovation is nurtured - and not just in the automotive industry.
It is no coincidence that Silicon Valley and Hollywood have become the recognised centres of their respective industries.
Some of the futuristic sketches entered into the Design Challenge may look more at home on the big screen than on the road, but that's part of the appeal of the competition.
This sentiment is backed up by David Browne, head of transport design at Coventry University. "Design this far into the future should be taken with a pinch of salt," he says.
"However, this sort of competition is a lot of fun and promotes derestricted thinking. We're surrounded by legislation and restriction in design, so it's good for motivation and relaxation."
Looking 50 years into the future is pretty much guesswork in terms of technology, but perhaps not in how the car will be used. Virtually all of the entrants in the 2007 competition were designed primarily for a single occupant.
Despite efforts throughout the developed world to encourage car sharing, the vast majority of daily journeys are carried out with just a driver on board.
That's unlikely to change, even with increased usage of car pool lanes and the like, so it stands to reason that either customers will demand more appropriate cars or legislation will force the car makers' hands.
BROWNE AGREES COMPLETELY with this position, giving the example of the Smart Fortwo as a good design that has been let down by infrastructure. He states that "legislation needs to keep pace with technology advance, so there is an incentive to buy such cars".
Browne points out that weight and size reduction will be key to the future of the automobile.
With the current focus on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it's no surprise that the manufacturers have already started down this route.
One such example is the new Mazda2, which is actually lighter than its predecessor, despite extra safety and equipment. It's a start in the right direction.
One of the shortcomings of cars designed primarily to be space efficient for urban usage is that they rarely excel once taken outside the city. In the near term, we may see more cars like the Smart and forthcoming VW Up! in use in urban areas, but few buyers have the budget to buy a car for each driving environment they frequent. Nearly all of the designs illustrated for the LA Design Challenge allow the best of both worlds with clever adaptation.
Admittedly, the designers have concocted several technologies that are nowhere near reality. However, a look back over the past 50 years reveals just how quickly technology moves on.
For instance, Terminator-style self-healing metal may not yet be ready for production, but adjusting the car's stance depending on the environment looks conceivable.
Browne succinctly describes the car of the future as "intelligent and personal". It may not adopt these particular guises, but the principles behind them may not be as far away as 2057.
The runners up
AUDI VIRTUEA QUATTRO
Though the Audi Virtuea Quattro (pictured below) is theoretically hydrogen-powered and features advanced artificial intelligence to allow it to travel at high speed in close convoy with other cars autonomously - its party trick is an exterior design that is projected as a holograph.
The driver can choose from a variety of designs at the click of a button, from supercar to slim commuting vehicle or even a tree, with the advanced body also absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere.
MERCEDES-BENZ SILVERFLOW
The SilverFlow concept will be familiar to fans of the Terminator movie collection, as it utilises micro-metallic particles that can actually be stored in a single pool of ferromagnetic material. By applying sophisticated magnetic fields, the car can take on a variety of pre-programmed shapes, though the designers chose the sleek, slim shape of the Mercedes Grand Prix cars of the 1930s.
The body can self repair and the designers also envisage a computer system that can read the driver's mind.
HONDA 14 ONE TO THE POWER OF FOUR
The Honda 14 (pronounced "One to the Power of Four", pictured left) is Honda's answer to a mass movement away from cities in the 2050s and the need for flexible commuter vehicles.
The idea is simple enough.
Each of the Honda 14s holds a single occupant, which is perfect for running to the shops or short journeys.
On longer trips the Honda 14 can combine with three others to seamlessly create a more stable vehicle that can travel at high speed and using less of a footprint than four single vehicles.
It's clever car pooling.
GM-ONSTAR ANT
At first glance, the GM-OnStar Ant (pictured below) looks like some kind of complex origami sculpture on wheels, but the body panels are connected to the advanced "Nanorb" wheel robots with artificial muscles, allowing the car to change shape according to its occupants needs.
Examples given include a mobile cinema and a tent of sorts.
Apparently, the Nanorbs work completely independently and so can be used to mobilise virtually any object.
The Ant name comes from the car's ability to self-regulate in traffic, just like the insect.
MAZDA MOTONARI RX
You don't drive the Mazda Motonari RX (pictured right) so much as wear it.
A special haptic driving suit is made up of millions of microscopic actuators that control the car based on the driver's minute movements and reactions.
Feedback from the road is provided by electrical stimulation, so the driver literally feels the road underneath.
The bodywork looks little more than a melted blob of material, but it adapts to allow for different driving conditions and the driver's seating position.
TOYOTA BIOMOBILE MECHA
Like several of the other entries in the Design Challenge, the Toyota Biomobile Mecha has a body form that adapts to its environment and driving conditions.
Owners will have no fear of having their alloys stolen either, as the wheels are actually created by the use of lasers, only when they're needed. They can also adapt to the terrain, which means no traditional suspension.
On top of this, Toyota's engineers predicted that cars of the 2050s could actually extract energy from pollution in the air, helping to clean up the environment.
NISSAN ONEONE
Nissan's design team called its entry the OneOne, which when pronounced "won won" is the endearment given to cute barking dogs by the Japanese.
That may sound barking in its own right, but the OneOne was conceived to be part-pet and part-vehicle.
Cuddly looks aside, the OneOne does have the ability to look after your kids, including driving them to and from school and sports. Its synthetic polymer muscles allow it to adapt to different driving conditions too, including a "skating" mode.