Designing Volkswagen's first eVTOL for luxury passenger transport within China
In a groundbreaking collaboration spanning two years, tangerine partnered with VW Group China to pioneer its inaugural eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, named V.MO ‘Sky Garden’. This endeavour epitomised an exceptional amalgamation of design, engineering, and manufacturing prowess, resulting in the realisation of a visionary mode of transportation. The design underwent meticulous refinement through a series of iterative stages, including extensive prototyping and flight trials, earning prestigious accolades such as the German Design Award 2023 and the iF Award 2023.
While the project had been in progress for some time, tangerine officially joined the team in February 2022 following a rigorous selection process. Renowned for our proficiency in commercial aircraft design and crafting luxurious passenger experiences, we garnered the trust of VW Group China, forging a collaborative alliance. Our mandate encompassed harmonising user expectations, the VW Group brand identity, and engineering imperatives to shape the aircraft’s exterior and interior aesthetics.
Services
- Vision Setting & Creative Direction
- Mobility Interior and Exterior Design
- Industrial Design
- CMF Design
- UX Design
- Visualisation
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The style, format, and layout of the eVTOL were influenced by intensive user research conducted with over a hundred high-net-worth individuals across China, enabling the delineation of precise design specifications. Targeting the luxury travel market, the eVTOL had to cater to discerning passengers seeking expedient travel between China’s bustling metropoles for both business and leisure. The primary challenge lay in striking the right balance between aesthetic excellence, luxury user demands, and stringent engineering constraints.
The internal space of the eVTOL is very similar to a car, so progressive automotive references were drawn upon for design inspiration. At the same time, as a flying experience, the views of remarkable landscapes along the journeys needed to be prioritised by maximising the size of the windows.
Leap
To mitigate weight, the eVTOL adopts a single-door configuration, necessitating innovative ingress and egress solutions. Our team devised a skate step to enhance the boarding experience and optimised interior space to accommodate luxury amenities.
Technologically advanced materials sourced from the automotive sector were integrated into the seating, including a bio-based faux leather dress cover, while the headrests were crafted from fully recyclable plastic, 3D printed to achieve a unique knit pattern.
Fully working prototypes have been developed to test flight, with the technological solution design and engineering then refined to introduce some changes to the exterior based on dynamic testing to ensure optimal performance. Throughout the design process, tangerine worked very closely with the Volkswagen design team and Sunward to make sure the fuselage design is aligned with the manufacturing processes and wind tunnel testing.
Land
This eVTOL is purposefully crafted to provide fast, luxurious, and environmentally friendly travel between China’s megacities for the country’s high-net-worth individuals. The spacious and opulent cabin comfortably accommodates three passengers and their luggage while offering sweeping views through large windows.
Powered by eight fixed upward propellers and two rear forward propulsion propellers, the eVTOL can transport passengers and luggage up to 200 kilometres. It operates purely on electricity and is fully autonomous, building upon existing autonomous driving solutions and battery technology to deliver zero-emission mobility.
The aerodynamic design positions the cabin under the wings, spanning 11.2 meters in length and 10.6 meters in wingspan, ensuring passenger safety away from propellers. The cabin’s design, inspired by Chinese landscape paintings, evokes harmony with the scenic surroundings, incorporating culturally significant jade for interior colours.
Sky Garden exudes an ambience of tranquillity and spaciousness, ideal for passengers to embark on their business endeavours after a comforting commute. Sustainable materials, smart fabric touchpads, immersive displays, and seamless connectivity converge to create a truly unique and luxurious experience.
While the initial prototype targets private ownership, future iterations will cater to diverse user needs. Ongoing design efforts focus on developing a production version that retains our concept’s aesthetic language while enhancing passenger capacity and creating a lightweight interior for airworthiness.
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