THE "ALTO" FLYING CONCEPT WINS THE LEXUS FUTURE DESIGN PROGRAM - Auto&Design (2024)

The Lexus Future Design Program, a Lexus design challenge to imagine how luxury mobility might evolve in the year 2040, has been won by “Alto,” an extreme concept of a globe-like flying vehicle for personal use. It is the work of young designer Richard Newman and was selected among six finalists in The Soul of Future Premium program. Presented by Lexus with the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, the project challenged graduates of the college’s Intelligent Mobility Design Centre (IMDC) to explore new vehicle architectures that could meet changes in European city life and society and to re-imagine the role Lexus could play as a luxury mobility brand.

“Alto,” is a hydrogen-powered VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle whose teardrop shape is inspired by hot air balloons and plant terrariums. Newman looks to a future in which technology will become so commonplace that it will no longer be considered a luxury; instead, people will appreciate the “celebration of the everyday” as a premium experience. He describes the vehicle as a jewel in the sky – like a cloud earring, with the ability to customize the exterior. The functionality of the design also allows parking on the side of buildings without any kind of difficulty. “I wanted to create something quite inspiring, that you raised a few eyebrows, but also made people smile,” said Richard (Coventry, UK). “It turned out to be a pretty organic design path, and the changes I needed to make became pretty apparent as the program progressed, with input from Lexus designers.”

The six-month program included mentoring and evaluation sessions with Ian Cartabiano and Lance Scott, President and Senior Manager respectively at Lexus’ European design studio, ED2, along with Prof Dale Harrow, President of IMDC, and Dr Chris Thorpe, Head of the RCA’s Intelligent Mobility program. They were joined on the judging panel by author and design commentator Nargess Banks and senior representatives from Lexus Europe to select the winner. The designers presented their work in person to the judges during a final ceremony at IMDC on March 15. In addition to the winner, there was praise for the other runners-up: Zhenyu Kong (China) for “Lexus #Units” and Ben Miller (Canada), for “Crucible.”