Retro Versus Anti-Retro: A Case Study
Recently, our man in Brazil has been confessing his love for Citroen’s “anti-retro” DS series, sparking a debate over what qualifies as “retro” and what qualifies as “anti-retro.” Here, to help draw the distinction are two separate interpretations of an iconic vehicle. On the left is Geely’s EnglonSC7-RV concept, which gives a tackily Chinese take on the classic British taxi. On the right is VW’s Up! London Taxi concept, which takes the same inspiration and packages it in a far more sleek, modern style. As a result, the Englon looks like a doughy, anglophile PT Cruiser, while the VW looks sharp, crisp and yet classic. When it comes to interpreting modern classics, its seems that capturing the spirit of a car is more important than faithfully recreating its cues.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
Comments
Join the conversation
The Geely has way too much front overhang.
There are certain functional requirements of a Hackney Carriage, governed by a wonderfully pompous act of parliament no less. One of these is to have a turning circle of less than 25 feet. There are very few vehicle with this capability and it is very hard to do with a FWD car. The Geely is FWD (based on one of their current cars, not the LX4 as has been suggested) so is probably not suitable. The Up petrol version is based on a rear wheel drive concept however the ev version powers the front wheels, although a motor in wheel configuration may allow for the turning circle. However the discusson is moot given that neither of these are actually Hackney Carriage proposals, they're just styling exercises. As for the Geely styling, it would be more accurate to describe the Geely as having 1950s pre-pininfarina Austin cues as this is where the original FX4 came from. See the A40 Somerset, A70 Hereford and even the Mini in some respects for similar design features.
You had me at "doughy, anglophile PT Cruiser". The VW looks like the New Bulli concept that was featured here a while ago. I like it.
The Geely looks like a miniature Bentley which is wearing those big screw-on wheel arch extenders used by people with enormous 4x4 tires. I can't figure out what is "classic" about the VW. Also, the TTAC comment editor is horribly broken in Firefox 4.