ICONA DESIGN GROUP makes its Indian debut at the Auto Expo 2020, showing its vision for the mobility of the future represented by the Icona Nucleus concept vehicle model.
What is ICONA
Founded in 2010, ICONA has its roots in Turin, where many world-renowned automotive facilities are concentrated, including design studios, manufacturers, universities and research centers. The presence of the industry leaders such as Tecnocad Progetti and Cecomp, shareholders of the company together with the president and CEO Teresio Gigi Gaudio, ensures a solid base for the development of the projects realized for its customers, with a know-how that covers the entire process, from management to styling, from engineering to prototyping and production. The ICONA group has over 120 designers, pattern makers, engineers and project managers from 21 different countries, with offices in Shanghai and Los Angeles in addition to the Turin headquarters. In 2018, ICONA revenues exceeded € 23 million. Since the presentation of the concept vehicle Nucleus, Icona has collected four prestigious awards: the German Design Award (Germany), the Muse Award (USA), the Golden Panda for Innovation (China) and the Capital Elite Award (Italy). Building on a solid expertise and reputation in mobility design, ICONA is now expanding into other areas such as industrial and yachting design.
The Indian shift towards EV
The Indian auto industry became the 4th largest in the world with sales increasing 9.5 per cent year-on-year to 4.02 million units (excluding two wheelers) in 2017. It was the 7th largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in 2018. Under the FAME program, the Indian government is strongly pushing towards a sustainable, shared and autonomous mobility. This will create new players, new products and new business opportunities. ICONA wants to take this opportunity to enter a new and rising market, offering an attractive and effective design which unites Italian know how and a multicultural approach.
Statement by Dr. Teresio Gaudio, ICONA’s President and CEO: Teresio Gigi Gaudio, ICONA President and CEO, says: “India is a promising market with high potential for design. We expect India to become a major player in Electric Vehicles with the involvement of traditional and new manufacturers. ICONA has a consolidated experience in new mobility design and is present in India through its representative since over six months, ready to catch any opportunity in the country. The Auto India show is a fantastic stage to showcase ICONA.”
Auto Expo 2020
Auto Expo 2020 is one of the world’s premier auto shows. A signature event, that witnesses the best minds coming together on a single platform to showcases all that is best in the automotive world, in terms of products, technologies, concepts and trends.
Mobility is no longer just about cars. Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Robotics are increasingly playing a vital role in the field of mobility. To enhance the experience, be it through shared rides, driving pleasure, voice commands or even assisted vehicles in the future.
Automotive industry showcases the latest Car & Bikes which are going to be launched in the Indian market in the near future.
Samuel Chuffart on future design
Samuel Chuffart, VP and Global Design Director of ICONA said, “We are witnessing an extraordinary moment in history, in fact many industries and countries have the chance to join the electric car revolution. This technology is much more accessible than the thermic engine. This leads to a radical new approach to car design which Icona has already embraced with a multicultural approach. Icons like the Nucleus have been created with the creative contribution of 21 nationalities. Our 90 designers work together from three locations in Turin, Shanghai and Los Angeles. India is open to a new chapter in mobility and this is the reason why we stepped into this country through our representative and further are coming to the Auto Expo 2020 now.”
ICONA NUCLEUS, the ultimate self-driving living room
The concept
Nucleus represents the synthesis of futurism and a human-centered mindset. It takes the ICONA Neo Concept one step further by reconsidering the very way that we use a vehicle.
Neo introduced us to tomorrow, Nucleus introduces us to after-tomorrow.
The ICONA Nucleus embodies ICONA’s vision for the future of mobility. First seen in 2015, the ICONA Neo concept demonstrated a very tangible tomorrow for the electric vehicle. With its fully autonomous driving level five, the Nucleus jumps two generations ahead. Inside the vehicle, the absence of a driver does not only mean the absence of a steering wheel and a dashboard, but the opportunity for a new understanding of mobile living spaces, where the focus is no longer the road but the destination.
Technology should be felt but not seen and so a “less is more approach” has been used, resulting in a fluid and sculptural body that combines the needs of both aerodynamics and ergonomics. Beyond its technological innovation, Nucleus also shows us the future for the next generation of cars. A generation that aspires to be socially responsible through respect not only for the natural environment but also for the human environment.
Mobility in after-tomorrow will be very different from today, with a large number of shared, self-driving, electric vehicles which will serve as individual or small group shuttles between mass mobility infrastructure and large hub destinations. Yet, the future will remain multi-faceted and cars will continue to reflect our needs as well as express our individuality. With a fully autonomous self-driving car, we can make so much more use of it than the current family car: it will take you to the airport, come back to pick up the kids from school then later take the grandparents to a doctor’s appointment. The car will spend much less time parked, and will be much more usefully employed on the road. One car will replace several cars, and by nature will be an excellent place to be: its use and versatility will be directly reflected in the multiple possibilities of its interior design.
The mono-volume exterior is unlike any vehicle you have ever seen. The shape looks purposeful and beautiful. The profile and surfacing look as though the vehicle was shaped to move efficiently and quietly through the air. Being fully autonomous, there is no side glass in the traditional sense, rather semi-transparent bodycolor panels that allow the occupants to see out from the vehicle but remain shrouded for privacy while traveling. The upper glass from windscreen to the complete roof is asymmetrical, divided into fully transparent and semi-transparent glass, giving a distinct visual cue that this vehicle is something truly different.
The ICONA Nucleus is a self-moving executive lounge: the body side is characterized by long elegant sculpting which emphasizes the luxury nature of the vehicle. Like a protective bubble, the Nucleus protects and embraces its passengers, at the same time offering a stunning view of the outside, thanks to an extremely wide glass surface which constitutes the majority of the upper body.
The graphically asymmetrical body is divides by two portions marked by a diagonal line which crosses the roof from front right to back left, dividing the transparent and partly semi-transparent glass. Just one large entry is granted, to the right, on the safe side. It includes the main sliding door and the oyster roof opening to accommodate the passengers in a walk-in access.
With a length of 5.25 meters and a width of 2.12 meters, the Nucleus stands at 1.75 meters high on 27 inches wheels. Its slick aerodynamic design with full underbody diffuser and wheel arch aerodynamic blade extensions bring the CX to just under 0.22, a very good number that definitely helps its rolling resistance and energy consumption. Its Motor in wheel technology helps to optimize the space inside the Nucleus and its hydrogen range extender can bring the autonomy to 1200 kilometers.
Luxury lounge-like interior
Now that all occupants are passengers, their interaction and the individuality of their personal space become a priority. Individual preferences can be catered for, as seating arrangements are flexible. The road is there and can be seen, but it is no longer the focus of each and every passenger, as in a cinema. This first-class traveling lounge is not a foreign concept if we consider air travel. The flexibility of movement for each individual, along with the Infotainment guided by the car computer, gives a sense of luxury well beyond the material and finish that will be expected from such modern and sophisticated vehicles.
This is not too dissimilar to the iPhone, which changed what we consider a phone to be: doing a lot more with what seems in appearance to be less.
The Nucleus can easily accommodate six people. Seats can be adjusted to different use, rotating to face the desk or the rear passengers in the front, strongly reclining to the rear and even transforming into a couch on center. The large seats in the front and in the back make it as comfortable and cozy as a luxury living room. If you are heading to a five-star hotel, sitting in the Nucleus will make it seem as if you are already in your room. A small table and all necessary spaces and connections for a laptop are available, as well as a wet bar so that even the shortest trip can be effectively used for business or leisure.
Being a large luxury car, the inspiration of Nucleus has come as much from the Concorde airplane as from a yacht. A gliding speed form that travels elegantly through the landscapes of cities and countryside. A flair which may after all take us back to the true romance of the image of travelling in the 1930’s; a time when there was no aggressive design to illustrate people’s driving ambition. In spite of actual dynamic capabilities that would naturally be well beyond what was possible for a driven car of that size, Nucleus shows a more mature and peaceful world waiting for us.
Technical data ICONA Nucleus
Propulsion: Electric AWD
Power: 600 hp
Drivetrain: 4 Elaphe L1500 in-wheel 110 kW motor in wheel
Battery: 6 Coils (300 kg) by Bolloré Blue Solutions
Hydrogen Range Extender: 5.3 kg Capacity at 700 psi
DRIVING SYSTEM
Level 5 by HoloMatic
PERFORMANCE
Acceleration: 0-100 km/h in 3.5s
Combined Range: 1200 km
Drag Coefficient: Cx = 0.22
AMENITIES
Infotainment: Personal Control, Center Travel Dashboard, Multidisciplinary Media System
Business: Mobile Office Access Kit, Wireless device charger
Refreshment: Front wet bar
DIMENSIONS
Length: 5259 mm
Width: 2115 mm
Height: 1742 mm
Weight: 2050 kg
Wheelbase: 3310 mm
Front & Rear tires: 205 35 R 27 Run flat System
INTERIOR
Seats: 3 in High Luxury configuration or 6 max adults
Ingress & Egress: Curb-facing walk-in access
