On May 26th, GAC Aion, under the theme of “Future Technology, Enjoy Today”, held a design appreciation meeting. The vice president of GAC R&D Institute and a group of interior and exterior designers took us through a meticulous and detailed view of the cool design concept from another perspective.
Design Concept of Exterior \& Interior
Exterior
The Aion Y’s paint provides five official color options: Starry Night Black, Lunar Gray, Star Lake Green, Super Star Silver, and Snowfield White. Among them, the Star Lake Green and Super Star Silver adopt nano-level color-changing pearlescent particles, presenting two completely different colors on the illuminated surface and the backlit surface. The high quality of the green paint can be clearly seen in the photos.
Compared with its sibling, Aion S, the front face of Aion Y is obviously simpler and more stretched out, with distinct edges but not particularly outlandish. The 12 hollowed-out decorative bars in the front grille of Aion Y are also equipped with light sources, which is quite advanced. The LED headlights embedded with 128 lamp beads support light show mode.
Aerodynamic design elements such as hidden door handles and hollowed-out tail wing contribute to its low wind resistance coefficient of 0.31, better than that of a general SUV. The X-shaped taillights at the rear also have a strong sense of design and a sci-fi style.
Although positioned as a compact SUV, the Aion Y’s body size reaches 4,680 × 1,901 × 1,670 mm, with a wheelbase of 2,750 mm. According to the designer, this size ensures that passengers with 180 cm height can have sufficient leg and headroom in the rear seats. The trunk capacity also reaches 420 L.
Interior
The car system of Aion Y is equipped with the ADiGO 5.0 smart driving and interconnected system, with the Qualcomm 8155 chip. The specific fluency needs to be experienced in person, but the interior design with the concept of “smoothness” as the guiding principle designed by the designer gives a very comfortable feeling.
This feeling comes from minimalistic design and the embellishment of details. The details include the dripping of “circular” elements. For example, the door handles, air conditioning vents, and control areas of the Inkoo all use circular elements, which looks very harmonious. There is no feeling of mediocrity, nor does it appear overly designed.
The details are also reflected in the central gearshift area. In addition to the dazzling crystal gearshift head, Inkoo is equipped with a lifting mechanism for wireless charging. After putting the phone on, the entire platform will automatically tilt backward by 6 degrees, which is stable and convenient for viewing. However, the consideration of ceremonial sense may outweigh practicality here.
The designer’s “moisture” comes from Inkoo’s special leather material. According to the introduction, Inkoo’s seats use “matte leather,” which has the visual advanced sense of Alcantara suede leather and the easy-to-care-for characteristics of genuine leather. You will find horizontal stripes on both the leather seats and door panels. The designer introduced that the inspiration here comes from the crepuscular rays formed by the sun shining through the clouds. Leaving aside the complex design process behind it, Inkoo’s consideration of details is indeed considerable.
In addition, Inkoo will also be equipped with Yamaha audio, supporting “theatre mode” and other scenes. The speakers will also be arranged on the seats to increase immersion. However, depending on the model, this configuration may only appear on higher-end models.
Powertrain
Inkoo’s power will be equipped with three powertrain systems:
– 2.0L Atkinson engine + GMC 2.0 hybrid;
– 1.5T + 7-speed wet dual-clutch;
– 2.0T + Aisin 8 AT.# Translation in English – Markdown Text
We are very curious about the performance of the GMC 2.0 second-generation mechatronic coupling system. But today we will only showcase the static appearance and interior, and we will definitely bring you actual experience in the future.
Final Words
I don’t know if anyone still remembers the initial GAC Trumpchi GA5. The design of its interior and exterior was very mediocre, and although it had a good market reputation for power and chassis quality, it still failed to create enough waves.
As the GAC Motor’s “Yingbao” began to gain popularity, people began to pay attention to the progress made by the GAC Trumpchi in its exterior design. We can see that, from the styling of their exterior and paint colors to the gear lever design and texture design of the interior, the attention to detail in the design of Yingku exceeds even that of Yingbao.
I also recalled the Roewe RX5 interior and exterior design sharing session that I attended some time ago, and it is clear that these Chinese brands are gradually improving their design skills, as well as their thinking towards details. Regardless of the future forms of automobile power, the exterior and interior design which are the most direct part of consumer sensory contact will always be the first element to impress people. If they form their own family of designs and brand identities, this will be an endless wealth.
While praising Yingku, I also hope that more and more Chinese car manufacturers will be able to establish their own ideas and showcase their unique designs for the exterior and interior of their vehicles.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.