New Car for London envisions the future of autonomous ride-hailing – by design studio PriestmanGoode

Autonomous vehicles are at the heart of future mobility solutions. Cars are being designed from the inside out, looking more and more like luxurious and spacious living rooms. The demands of passenger change.
London-based design studio PriestmanGoode addresses these trends with its project ’New Car for London’. The concept vehicle presents the future of autonomous ride-hailing. With its length of 3.6 metres, New Car for London has a size of a compact vehicle but with a maximised internal space. Due to the large amount of glazing, passengers can have a great view of the city. New Car for London integrates an app so that passengers can book and customise the vehicle in advance.

“The idea is for the New Car for London to live alongside the city’s existing transport icons, like the tube, the double decker bus or the black cab, and create a new offer that adds to London’s great transport landscape.” – Dan Window, Creative Director

The vehicle is inspired by the city of London combining simple geometric forms with contemporary angular details inspired by London’s brutalist architecture. It serves for a wide range of users for journeys up to an hour and can take four passengers at a time.

The interior is designed to suit the riders’ needs. The seats are opposite the doors to allow easier access for larger items like luggage, wheelchairs or bicycles. With the leg rests being pulled out, you can easily create a seating that feels like your sofa. Additional seats offer space for 2 more passengers. Other features of the interior include:
– Motion controlled lamp to adjust brightness and hue
– Console featuring cup holder
– Wireless phone charging dock
– Rotating table increasing the surface area for a laptop, food etc.
– A belt and floor grooves keep suitcases in place
– Umbrella stand with integrated dryer
– Magazine pocket
– Coat/bag hook

Another element that creates a feeling of a living room is the rug that lies centrally in the vehicle. The geometric pattern is inspired by the traditional moquette patterns to be found throughout London’s iconic transport system. The interior colour palette includes Oxford blue, Portland stone and shades of brick red and electric cyan.
Besides the vehicle has taken into consideration Covid precautions such as a hand sanitiser dispenser and washable materials. The integrated UV cleaning ensures that the vehicle is cleaned after every journey.

Another feature that is integrated in the New Car for London is a first aid kit at the rear providing support in emergency situations.

“The last few months have really highlighted the importance of supporting one another. As we develop future vehicle concepts, we wanted to explore how they might benefit communities more widely. This integrated first aid kit, for instance, could help provide support in emergency situations while waiting for first responders.” – Dan Window, Creative Director

New Car for London isn't PriestmanGoode's first autonomous concept vehicle. The studio has been working with autonomous network transit (ANT) company Dromos Technologies to develop an electric autonomous vehicle for high capacity urban transport. The vehicle is currently in development.

Pictures: PriestmanGoode
Text: Britta Reineke