2003 EDAG Cinema 7D - AllCarIndex

Following the exterior studies of the recent years which attracted so much attention, EDAG Engineering + Design AG now presents a pioneering and completely innovative interior concept: the show car Cinema 7D. The Cinema 7D mobilizes the spacious experience of a film theatre and provides for each of the up to seven passengers a box of seat fom which to participate in a total sensation of travel.

More emotion for the MPV class

"Successful automobile design generates emotions and makes products unmistakeable." Committing to this guideline, the EDAG design team took a critical look at today's motor vehicle classes. The analysis of the MPV class showed that customers have willingly accepted this family-friendly saloon coach. But will car-makers' concept of merely providing the MPV models with extensive roominess be sufficient to secure market share in the future? More and more competitors are appearing on the market in the attractive MPV class, yet becoming more and more interchangeable in the eye of the buyer. There are hardly any perceptible distinguishing features between the models in terms of size, shape and appointments. Johannes Barckmann and his design team set themselves the goal of creating an unmistakeable and, equally important, emotional image for the MPV class. The concept aimed at making a unique community experience possible. Just as a convertible communicates a feeling of freedom and originality, the Cinema 7D has been designed with the objective of addressing the basic need for community and the desire to share experiences with one another. The emotional event character, such as that experienced when a group goes to the cinema together, was therefore defined as the guiding light for the design of the Cinema 7D.

The cinema concept

The spacious sense of a film theatre has been conveyed to the interior of the Cinema 7D for each of the seven passengers. The innovative placement of the seats adds for the first time the third dimension to the passenger cab. The rows of seats rising towards the back of the vehicle - like in the cinema - are the principle feature of the Cinema 7D. The driver and front seat passenger have their seats in the first row, two more seats are available in the second row. If as many as seven people can take their places in the Cinema 7D, there are three more box seats reserved in the third row of seats. In addition, the seats have deliberately been staggered with respect to each other so that all of the passengers have an unhindered view in the direction of travel. Every one of the passengers can experience and enjoy travel in this new type of van - just like the driver. A community feeling of travel with event character. All of the common seat functionalities such as folding down or removal of the seats to increase the size of the load area have naturally been included in the Cinema 7D. The Cinema 7D also breaks with traditional rules in the design of the exterior, such as the horizontal structure of the body. The silhouette of the EDAG show car displays instead the interaction between the smooth, generously proportioned planes of the passenger cab as it strives upward and the facet-like sculpture of the chassis. The clear, visual separation emphasizes the passenger cab as a key element of the design concept. The dimensions of the Cinema 7D are oriented to the usual size of the MPV class. During the realization of the package concept, all of the possible drive systems were taken into consideration. Front, middle or rear engines can be installed in the Cinema 7D, as can fuel cell aggregates in the sandwich floor of the vehicle.

Quo vadis, MPV?

EDAG presents the show car "Cinema 7D" as proof of the company's position as an innovative provider of ideas in automobile development and stimulates car-makers to discuss new, promising approaches for the design of the MPV class.

source: EDAG