This reto model has just landed in China, bringing an electric flashbak to consumers. As the automobile world continues to advance new alternative engine designs and concepts, beloved designs and models from previous generations of vehicles risk being left behind in favor of the sleek and minimalist design many electric vehicles share. However, there is a growing trend among automobile developers to bring back the retro design of previous models while embracing futuristic engine technology in order to combine the past and the present.
Combining the past and the present with retro designs
The electric engine has largely been the biggest focus of the automobile world for the last decade. With these new engine developments, however, new model designs have also begun to be seen on the road. While each automobile company brings its own flair and personalization to its models while retaining brand legacy and defining core features, most electric vehicle models have embraced a minimalist look for a modern, clean, and ‘futuristic’ aesthetic. This trend aligns with overall design trends across industries, where maximalist design has been phased out for more brutalist designs in order to signal the ‘rise of the machine’ era we are currently living in.
However, for most people, their vehicle is one that they intend to spend a significant amount of time in, commuting daily from home to their place of work. As such, older designs that have come to be loved by consumers retain a sentimental value to them, and the phasing out of these models in order to embrace electric engine technology has sometimes been met with disappointment by consumers.
In order to meet consumers halfway, automobile companies have chosen to take design inspiration from their old, internal combustion engine models and rehash them for newer models, which make use of electric engine technology as a means to not forget their roots while still looking towards the future of the industry.
Jet-age silhouette makes an electric comeback
In line with this emerging trend of bringing back designs from the past while embracing engines of the future, General Motors’ subsidiary in China has just released a first look at the Buick Electra Orbi, an electric concept vehicle that brings back legacy designs of the Buick paired with an advanced electric engine.
“Electra Orbit is a bold exploration of what Buick can be when we blend heritage inspiration with visionary innovation,” said Vice President of Design for GM China and GM International and Chief of Design at SAIC-GM, Stuart Norris.
With the design drawing upon the 1950s ‘space glamor’ design trends, the concept vehicle measures at nearly 20 feet with a pair of deployable wings that rise up and out of the bodywork to improve drag and create downforce at speed. While details have not emerged on the electric drivetrain, GM describes how the concept vehicle would incorporate the company’s already established electric platform.
Is the future of the automobile world electric?
With new concept vehicles such as the Buick Electra Orbi continuing to emerge, coupled with the fact that the electric vehicle retains the largest presence on the road in terms of alternative engine solutions, it would seem that the automobile world is placing the majority of its bets in a future which is electric.
However, while electric engine technology may be the dominant trend seen among developers, that has not stopped other alternative engine solutions from emerging in order for automobile developers to continue to demonstrate their advanced engineering capabilities as well as to provide multiple options for the industry to phase out the internal combustion engine. For example, hydrogen fuel-cell engine technology is fast emerging as a complement to the electric vehicle.