Citadel by Ian Hedge, USA

2009: Brave + Bold. America’s Next Iconic Vehicle.

Drawings on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™

Biography

Ian Hedge is a fourth-year car design student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. At a young age, he traveled through Europe and lived in France, Germany and Switzerland. He graduated from a university in the Netherlands and went to America to study art and design. Since then, he has completed internships with companies in Detroit, London and Tokyo. He continues to travel in order to experience new things and find what it means to be the best.

His definition of design is, “The conscientious decision of choosing one solution out of many, which most closely matches a pre-determined ideal.” We all create things and act in a certain manner. Most of the time, we are unconscious of our motivations, and largely, our actions. Design is the fundamental questioning of one’s senses and reflection on one’s desires. It is philosophy. It means being aware of one’s ideals, and doing all one can to achieve them. In such a sense, design may be applied to every aspect of one’s life. “Design doesn’t just happen with pen and paper – it should appear in one’s every thought and accomplishment.”

Description

Many luxury manufacturers are expanding their range from traditional C/D segment three-box saloons to cover a larger part of the market, and are now creating cars which are small and efficient – but decidedly premium – to satisfy modern values of efficiency and responsibility.

The Citadel is a study to investigate how a future B segment luxury vehicle could apply to the North American market and revolutionize the way consumers look at the small car – by providing a unique product that exceeds the expectations of luxury car buyers and incorporates modern concepts and values that will make it relevant to contemporary lifestyles.

One of the key elements of the concept are the narrow wheels and tires, which, while providing excellent grip from Michelin brand tires, create very little friction – resulting in good fuel economy.