Vauxhall looks to the future

The Royal College of Art's Vehicle Design course is in its 40th year, so to celebrate that fact Vauxhall asked students to look at what its cars might look like 40 years from now. Nineteen students from 11 countries participated, including the UK, and each had to look at the potential customer, and in turn how that person could benefit from the Vauxhall/Opel brand.

The resulting ideas were many and varied, and included a racing car driven by brainpower alone and zero-emissions single-seat cars. The winner, however, was an idea by France's Augustine Barbot, who designed the Darwin 2049: a vehicle with no wheels that drives 10cm above the ground on electro-magnetic power, and can dive through the sea like a submarine. Turbines propel the car forward, which is made from an aluminium frame covered in waterproof resin. 25-year-old Augustine now gets to spend three months working at GM's European Design Centre in Russelsheim.

Anthony Lo, Director of Advanced Design at GM Europe, said: "Everything we saw was very forward thinking and really pushed the boundaries in anticipating both practical and emotional needs from mobility. Augustin really did interpret the brief from an Opel/Vauxhall perspective, building on our commitment to electric vehicles and anticipating tomorrow's mobility needs."

Mark Nichol