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The new Range Rover Evoque hits Paris in style

Range Rover Evoque - Side View

It’s pretty hard to see the differences between the production version of the Range Rover Evoque to the LRX concept car – a significant evolution from the traditional design cues of the past.

The most bold element of this design is the dramatic rise of its beltline, running the length of the car, originating from a unique fender vent that appears connected with the front lamps, ‘behind’ the front wheel arch. As a result the overall feeling from this cross-coupe brings about a directional forceful stance, contrasting the more classical ‘upright’ functional appearance.

Gerry McGovern discusses the new Range Rover Evoque design philosophy

If it is indeed as well off the road as its predecessors, the Evoque will embody an idea that has transformed from functional form to form that is functional – potentially broadening its appeal.

*Detailed images coming soon

Range Rover Evoque - Front

A series that will explore the role of aesthetics in car design.

Aesthetics, as a term, denotes our response to an object through the senses. Such a response can range from something that is aesthetically ‘pleasing’, resulting in a fondness to the object, to something that is aesthetically ‘displeasing’, in which an unpleasant reaction is associated with the object. The way that a viewer determines their opinion on the aesthetics of an object is a result of the combined stimulation of the senses  (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) and human emotions. When it’s about cars, there is something special and deep about the role aesthetics plays.

Frank Hinder: Drawing, Frank Gehry:Disney Concert Hall, BMW: X-Coupe Concept

Nearly all man made objects have been designed. Some have been designed to a degree with either or both, a function and/or a form. Quite often, it is said that good design has a good balance of form and function, even so, it could be said to be an ‘ignorant’ view upon design and engineering. If objects that are more heavily based on either form or function the other is ignored. Vehicles and transportation are examples of where form and function are used to stimulate senses and emotion to create a viewers opinion on aesthetic values.

Question: How do these images make you feel individually and as a collective?

References:
Stoller, P. “The Taste of Ethnographic Things”, University of Pennsylvania Press, (1989)