Dear James Spotting regulars, welcome to the new decade. Kind of feels like the old, doesn’t it? Who knows if much has changed really. On the other hand, things definitely were a lot different at the start of 2000, politically and otherwise. On the automotive side of things, the past decade more or less started (well, in 1999) with the introduction of the Escalade and it sort of went downhill from there. Not to say that the 2000s have been all bad (hey, we got both the Reventon and the Veyron), but the rise of luxurious SUVs is one that I personally could’ve done without (DARTZ notwithstanding).
In any case, we’ll see what “the tens” have in storage. One designer who bypassing the anxiety altogether is Chu Hyung Kwon, who recently presented his vision of what’s to come in 2020. The Citroën 2020 Dakar Rally Concept looks like something I’d draw as a kid, much like I used to draw “the perfect animal” (claws of a tiger, head of a lion, feet of a cheetah, skin of a rhino, etcetera). The designer has expressed his wish to see technology on par with that of the F1 taking part in the Dakar race. The common thread throughout the conceptual car is the use of elasticity: a capsule surrounds the driver in order to prevent injuries in case of a collision. The rear is kitted out so that in case the car gets turned upside down, it will somehow magically bounce back. Finally, the wheels and tires are divided into segments, so that if a singular piece is damaged or punctured, only that part will need to be replaced.
