Festival International Automobile

The gala evening of January 30th, 2013, at the Invalides (Paris) was an opportunity to bring the world of automobile, luxury and media together to deliver Car of the year 2012 prize. Unsurprisingly, this is the Mercedes A-Class, which received the most votes from the public with over 100,000 voters. Mercedes has realized his desire to rejuvenate its image with a vehicle that is already widely admired in the streets.
The Opel Adam, which was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, last September, won the best Interior. We must say that the Opel designers have successfully integrated the various components of a vehicle interior in such a small car.
This is a great victory for German manufacturers.
Peugeot Style Centre was rewarded with the best concept car award: The Onyx. Peugeot’s designers have also exposed some of the objects from the laboratory and demonstrate, despite the current problems of the manufacturer, that creativity and desire to move forward is always present in Peugeot.
Michel Dionisi [automotive correspondent] & Audrey Seguin [design correspondent]
with www.vehiclenews.com

Peugeot Onyx

With the Onyx, Peugeot and Gilles Vidal demonstrate a new approach in the materials use. The exterior is very radical and looks like a supercar in terms of volume. The use of of pure copper, which is going to be altered by time is efficient. The interior is bright and natural. Warm and soft, the felt is derived from traditional production techniques. Obtained from boiled wool, with interwoven fibres, this material is completely recyclable and is an excellent thermal insulator. In addition, it improves the quality of the surrounding air by dehumidifying.

The dashboard is constructed with of a new type of ‘timber’ – ‘Newspaper Wood’. Produced from used newspapers, assembled and compressed to create a new material from which the parts are made. The illusion is interesting with veins of colour evident on the surface. On closer inspection the secret is revealed with the appearance of the print type.

Not to say it is only a concept car…