I didn't mean to imply that last week's "Who does retro right?" post was about any and all car manufacturers that are pulling off the retro thing. It's just that those three cars are soon to be in the same segment and needed to be compared. The Mini stands alone. Just like the cheese.
The redesigned Mini in 2001 is so much bigger than it's father, it's hard to believe that they pulled it off. When you see one on the road, you marvel at how much it looks just like the old one. Well don't stare at them for too long or you'll be disappointed how poorly your memory serves you.
Don't get me wrong, there are so many details that are so beautifully executed that the details themselves are great examples of retro design. The roof line, mirrors, wheels and instrument panel are careful modern interpretations of the originals. The headlights are filled with turn signals and projection beams, but are simplified to an oval (which viewed from straight on, are circles). A white roof, racing stripes and grille mounted driving lights are among the other details that are inspired by the car's heritage.
There's really nothing that I don't like about the design. All the details are well thought out, even though so many of those details designed themselves. So the only criticism I can give is that there's nothing ground breaking about the aesthetic. It's been done before. I think it was called the Mini. And that's why designers typically don't like retro designs. Retro designers get credit for beautiful interpretations of classic designs, but the argument can be made that it's only half as difficult to redesign a car as it is to design something from scratch.
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1 comment:
Very good.
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