Hyundai design boss: “let’s make boxy cool once more”

“When it was time to revamp the Santa Fe we confronted a giant problem,” says Hyundai’s exterior design supervisor Nicola Danza as he reveals us around the slightly hanging new form. “Due to course it’s a automotive that needs to be offered in America, Europe and Hyundai’s home market. We realised that we wanted one thing utterly new. An entire revolution.”

They definitely managed that. The reveal of the Santa Fe in July caught us utterly off guard, particularly after the swoopy streamliner look of the Ioniq 6.

“On this section we realised that every one the vehicles tended to look the identical,” says Danza. “They’re all slanted and making an attempt someway to be a sporty SUV that they’re not. They’re massive, they’re large. What number of blisters are you able to placed on the physique aspect to faux that you just’re sporty?

“On this case we stated let’s attempt to make an anti-design automotive. Unusual phrases for a designer however on the similar time it was about making it actually pure. We needed it to be extra sensible, and extra sensible means boxier, so let’s make boxy cool once more.”

We’re on board with that. The extra sensible a seven-seat SUV could be the higher, proper?

“We compelled the designers to essentially suppose whether or not they wanted every line and every blister,” continues Danza. “It was type of like a Giugiaro means of designing vehicles from the Nineteen Seventies.

“As a provocation to our administration, we confirmed them the primary mannequin of this automotive with sq. wheels. It’s a field, so let’s make all the things boxy. Truly, it’s been one of the vital enjoyable tasks I’ve labored on.”

There’s been a variety of shouts to say that this new Santa Fe seems to be like a Discovery 4, however Danza really reckons there’s one other SUV icon that bears a higher resemblance.

“We took influences from product design, as a result of product design tends to be very logical, very clever and really sensible. There’s nothing that you just don’t want.

“I heard many instances individuals saying it seems to be like a Land Rover, however to me it jogs my memory extra of the primary Jeep Grand Wagoneer. That form of raised station wagon.”

Humorous, Danza will need to have been studying TopGear.com just lately as Jeep designer Daniele Calonaci instructed us about preserving its vehicles as boxy as doable.

“You’ll be able to personalise it too,” continues Danza on the Santa Fe. “In Korea there will likely be a Calligraphy model which is lowered with massive wheels, whereas in America I’m 99 per cent positive that they’re all going to carry them, put greater wheels on and go off-road.”

There we go then, that’s how this new Santa Fe got here to be. And this isn’t an idea automotive – it’ll really make manufacturing wanting precisely like this.

“As designers it’s a dream working at Hyundai for the time being,” says Danza. “You’ll be able to experiment, you’ll be able to attempt various things, you’ll be able to problem. You want to hold us motivated; we’re inventive individuals. In the event you don’t feed creativity it tends to die or make it extra boring and regular.”