share on BufferFor his project, developed for the Master in Automotive Design at Coventry University, Héctor Álvarez wanted to create an exclusive, one-off vehicle to be showcase at a future edition of the Concours d’Elegance of Villa d’Este in Italy.
The Empiria (Experience in Greek) Concept takes inspiration from classicism and excellence typical of many sportscars from the 1950’s and 1960’s.
His goal was to stay away from mere retro-inspired modern reinterpretations and focus on the original core values of simplicity and essentiality.
The car proportions are influenced by iconic models such as the Ferrari 250 GTO and the Jaguar E-Type.
The Empiria features a long hood with a pushed-back cabin. The front overhang is short while the rear end is characterized by streamlined, flowing lines that merge into the distinctive central element.
The graphic development of the lines was inspired by the ∞ (infinite) symbol and the whole development of the lines, from the front to the rear, is also a metaphor for the flow of time.
The Empiria Concept has also another prominent graphic theme: the body surfaces are divided into two layers: the dark-tinted, front one visually extends and wraps around the underlying, white-painted surfaces of the rear section, similarly to a textile creation.
These two elements also represent contrasting concepts: the front, black part made in polycarbonate expresses classicism, elegance and wisdom through its curved shapes, while the futuristic rear section conveys a sense of craziness and youth through its modern, sculpted forms.
The contrasting two-color scheme also recalls the 1953 Pegaso Z 102 Thrill, the most famous model from the Spanish company.
The windshield features an peculiar curvature, with an “upright” central section flattening out towards the outer edges; this enhances the classic look when observing the car in profile.
The rear end is characterized by a central exhaust locate in upright, supercar-like position and by the elongated tail lamps which have a distinctively, fragmented shape inspired by the image of a meteorite traveling in space at high speed.
About the Designer
Héctor Álvarez Sánchez graduated from the Instituto d’Arte Applicata e Design (IAAD) of Turin and has a MA Master Degree in Automotive Design from Coventry University.
Contact Details:
- email: hector.alvarez.sanchez@gmail.com
- linkedin: linkedin.com/pub/hector-alvarez-sanchez/4b/4b7/210
(Image Courtesy: Héctor Álvarez Sánchez for Car Body Design)
Those messy surfaces do not look original but strange, and lacks having the elegant styling features from the beautiful pegaso classic cars its supposed to be inspired in (pegaso thrill, z-102, Rabassada…). In all, nice sketch work.