Opel Flextreme

red dot
red dot award: design concept 2008

company:

Adam Opel Gmbh and GM Europe Design

design:

Mark Adams, Anthony Lo, Boris Jacob, Riehand Shaw

Opel’s electric monocab concept car Flextreme presents a new vision for mobility with dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions. It features significant weight reduction, panoramic displays and two Segway® Personal Transporters to manoeuvre you around the city.

The Flextreme concept car demonstrates Opel’s commitment to developing vehicles that reduce CO2 emissions. This sporty monocab with a bright, spacious interior provides a new vision of mobility, utilising GM’s E-Flex architecture. Electric-driven (with a range of 55 km) and recharged in three hours, the vehicle has an additional diesel engine for charging the batteries for long-distance driving (of up to 715 km). The Flextreme will emit less than 40 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

While the front doors open in the conventional manner, the back ones are rear-hinged. As there is no central roof pillar, opening both doors on one side creates a large opening. The Flextreme’s luggage compartment is fully accessible via gullwing side-opening tailgates. Under the cargo floor, there are two electrically-powered Segway® Personal Transporters; these are designed for manoeuvrability in urban environments and can travel 38 km on a full battery at 20 km/h, further supporting the concept of a new interpretation of mobility.

Weight is reduced by 40% using polycarbonate windows and light-weight body panels. Distinguishing features such as cameras replacing outside mirrors, a covered front grille and the transparent covers of the alloy wheels are a successful compromise between designers’ desires and engineers’ requirements. Honeycomb structures inside the Flextreme offer low weight and high rigidity.The seats use lightweight construction.

Panoramic, reconfigurable displays are set under the windshield and show an all-around view of the car’s surroundings, and information about the audio/video system, telephone and other equipment. A second centre console display features touch-screen operation. The programmable buttons provide access to various menus, including air conditioning, communication/infotainment and navigation functions. A storage system in the centre tunnel allows the passengers to stow items such as mobile phones, iPods and PDAs. The electrical devices can be recharged by induction, and Bluetooth-capable systems can transmit their data to the onboard infotainment.