Designing supercars is easier compared to small mass-market cars, says VW design head

RahulNagaraj · 22nd March 2023, 12:55

According to reports, Andreas Mindt, the design head at Volkswagen & previously the head of Bentley's design team, thinks designing small cars for budget-conscious buyers is a much greater challenge than designing million-dollar supercars.

Designing supercars is easier compared to small mass-market cars, says VW design head-vwid4.jpg

Mindt, who designed the $1.95 million worth Bentley Mulliner Batur, said that it was easy to design because it's low, wide and has a long bonnet. He added that designers of supercars and hypercars have the advantage of working with a body shape that's by nature exciting. Also, these designers have little constraints when it comes to cost, allowing them to provide customers with the best materials and quality.

However, for a small car like the ID.2, which Volkswagen hopes to build millions of, the car's design undergoes a lot of scrutiny to save literal pennies to ensure the car remains within a specific price bracket. Mindt mentioned that designers who balance the budget sheets yet manage to design attractive cars are the ones who work the hardest.

Mindt further stated that designers who came up with cars like the Fiat Panda are, in his eyes, geniuses, not the ones who style hypercars.

Source: TopGear

Link to Team-BHP news

GTO · 22nd March 2023, 18:33

Absolutely. Quoting a recent post of mine from another thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

The truth is, it is much easier to build a low-volume supercar than a mainstream car that sells lakhs of units per year, meets the complicated needs of the mass market, all local regulations, requires huge factories, thousands of crores in R&D and still churns out some profit. We can all agree that Hyundai has mastered volume manufacturing.

Building supercars is easier. That's why you have so many small, boutique companies launching low-volume supercars, but none of them sells a 20-lakh crossover or sedan (just as examples).

I think Hyundai should definitely build a supercar. The "Genesis" brand already has a few fans and while a supercar will inevitably be a loss-making proposition, Hyundai is now big enough to partake in such experiments and have some fun.

22nd March 2023, 12:55	#1
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,302 Thanked: 22,124 Times	Designing supercars is easier compared to small mass-market cars, says VW design head According to reports, Andreas Mindt, the design head at Volkswagen & previously the head of Bentley's design team, thinks designing small cars for budget-conscious buyers is a much greater challenge than designing million-dollar supercars. Mindt, who designed the $1.95 million worth Bentley Mulliner Batur, said that it was easy to design because it's low, wide and has a long bonnet. He added that designers of supercars and hypercars have the advantage of working with a body shape that's by nature exciting. Also, these designers have little constraints when it comes to cost, allowing them to provide customers with the best materials and quality. However, for a small car like the ID.2, which Volkswagen hopes to build millions of, the car's design undergoes a lot of scrutiny to save literal pennies to ensure the car remains within a specific price bracket. Mindt mentioned that designers who balance the budget sheets yet manage to design attractive cars are the ones who work the hardest. Mindt further stated that designers who came up with cars like the Fiat Panda are, in his eyes, geniuses, not the ones who style hypercars. Source: TopGear Link to Team-BHP news Last edited by RahulNagaraj : 22nd March 2023 at 12:59.
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