Pininfarina Pura Vision concept blends SUV and sports car design themes
With the Pura Vision concept, Pininfarina is setting out its stall for the design of future models
Pininfarina has been making waves with its Battista all-electric hypercar – but now the car-company side of the Italian design consultancy has turned its focus to a completely different type of vehicle, with a new concept called Pura Vision.
Said to have been inspired by 1947’s Cisitalia 202 GT, the first car to enter the collection of Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pura Vision is also said to embody many of the design cues that will be used on forthcoming Pininfarina road models.
It’s a sizeable high-riding vehicle that tries to bridge the gap between sports models and SUVs, without looking like a conventional off-roader. Pininfarina calls it an electric Luxury Utility Vehicle (e-LUV) and says it has also been heavily influenced by the world of luxury yachts. It has not issued any powertrain figures or performance data, although it’s likely to have been designed around the 120kWh battery in the Battista, as well as at least some of that vehicle’s electric-motor units.
Set to make its public debut at the Monterey Car Week, alongside an as-yet-unspecified additional production-ready vehicle, the Pura Vision manages to eschew the worst complex surfaces, despite its size. Simple curved tension in the flanks goes a long way to disguising the tall doors, 23-inch wheels help to ‘bend’ the profile proportions and ultra-slim (1mm thick) ‘lighting fibres’ give the front end a sophisticated look. A simple ‘belt line’ runs all the way around the base of the relatively small glasshouse, and roof-mounted cameras provide a rear view in place of conventional mirrors.
The doors open up in three directions – forward, backward and up – to allow easy access to the four-seat cabin, without a conventional B-pillar. The tech is designed to highlight how Pininfarina’s design strengths can integrate key systems to keep a cabin simple and easy to use – so the central display rises from the console only when needed and speakers in the headrests can provide individual audio to each passenger.
The materials in the cabin also showcase Pininfarina’s capabilities – and those of its suppliers – in sustainable fabrics, with a new textile on the centre console that’s made from 30 per cent wool and 70 per cent recycled polyester. The company says that the material already meets its production standards.
Speaking of which, there’s no firm commitment yet on whether the Pura Vision could take the step from concept to reality – but Automobili Pininfarina has been discussing the expansion of its line-up beyond the Battista for several years, and it is believed to have already shown the concept to potential customers. Feedback from those wealthy car collectors – and reaction at Monterey – is likely to play a major role in the company’s decision on production plans.
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