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World Premiere of the Concept Car "EDAG Biwak" and European Premiere of the EDAG Hard Top-Version of the "Pontiac Solstice" at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show

BIWAK

Geneva - At this year's Motor Show in Geneva, EDAG Engineering + Design AG is exhibiting two exceptional vehicle concepts which will reinforce the company's reputation as an innovative and creative partner to the international motor vehicle industry. As a world premiere, the globally active company will be presenting the "EDAG Biwak", a sensational derivative concept based on the New Beetle.

The "EDAG Biwak" - a Derivative Concept with the Potential of a Volume Vehicle

For this new EDAG concept car, the classic, half-rounded beetle shape has been converted into an estate silhouette, creating extra room for various new professional and leisure applications. As well as offering the advantages of a marked increase in storage space and greater headroom for the back seat passengers, the the SUV light concept also provides more ground clearance, to enable the driver to take the vehicle off the road or race track.

Practical and stylish: the rear door provides easy access to the luggage section. The new body design drawn up by the EDAG stylists and developed by the EDAG engineers has the potential for use in vehicles for volume production. The EDAG Biwak would be the ideal second car for a family, though it could just as easily prove popular as a stylish leisure vehicle for surfers or divers, or even do service as a delivery truck for crafts or tradesmen. The concept combines a multitude of requirements, making it attractive to a broad spectrum of customers. To demonstrate the industrial feasibility of the concept, EDAG's development and production specialists have also worked out different manufacturing concepts for various quantities.

Trim + Colour as Marketing Instruments - Geneva Version: "Patina instead of High Gloss"

To increase its appeal to the intended target groups, the EDAG design team have created a sophisticated concept for individual equipment and features. Johannes Barckmann explains: "By utilising clearly worked out colour and trim concepts, we can adapt the look of the EDAG Biwak to appeal to the various target groups - high gloss finish and chrome elements for the bank clerk; crinkle finish, steel rims and denim for the young rebel. By offering numerous alternative versions of the extras, we can satisfy the customers' constant calls for individualisation."

With the version for the Geneva Show, EDAG deliberately set out to produce a provocative exterior - the EDAG Biwak look was inspired by the spirit of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, and takes up a successful trend in the fashion branch.

A matt crinkle finish on the ourtside combined with natural leather and denim on the inside create a direct counterpoint to the usual high-gloss look of other new cars. The crinkle finish lends the EDAG Biwak a used look, which brings the direct utility value of the vehicle very much to the fore. "We are giving the customer the freedom to make full use of the vehicle, dispelling his or her worries about that first, inevitable scratch in the paintwork," is how Johannes accounts for the provocative trim colour concept.

In this case, the motto "patina instead of high gloss" is directed at a target group intent upon breaking with convention. Just one example of how colour and trim can be employed as marketing instruments.

EDAG Exhibits Hard Top Version of the "Pontiac Solstice"

As a European premiere, EDAG will be displaying the hard top version of the Pontiac Solstice in Geneva. The American sports convertible is delivered ex works with a fabric top which, once it is folded back, tucks away under the lid of the boot. The EDAG design team have designed a special hard top with an integral boot cover for the Solstice, which not only puts a solid roof over the driver's head, but also lends the car a completely new appearance. Inspired by the Pontiac Safari station wagons of the 1950s and 60s, the EDAG designers have created a powerful, elegant and contemporary variant of an estate sports car.

With the EDAG Biwak and the hard top version of the Pontiac Solstice, EDAG once again succeeds in delivering evidence of the company's competence in the development of vehicle concepts which are both production-optimised and in line with market requirements.

Photos: Automotive Intelligence

(February 28, 2006)