We’ve seen Clark Wu’s work before. His previous projects shown at the Coventry University degree show last year certainly piqued our interest. Now he’s a first-year MA student at Pforzheim University, and he’s continuing to design some very interesting and aesthetically appealing concepts.
The concept Wu showed at this year’s degree show was created as part of a sponsored project in collaboration with FCA’s Maserati brand. Called the Maserati Bipolar, the concept aims to combine two opposite characters — of a luxury car and a sports car — into one. But instead of finding the perfect balance between the two, he proposes luxury and sportiness in a concept that can be driven in both directions.
The innovative and simple concept is a four-passenger GT car and a two-seat sports car depending on which way it is driven. The Bipolar concept’s 4-2 layout — where the number ‘4’ defines the relaxed seating position for four passengers and the ‘2’ seat configuration is demarcated by aggressive and low seating position. In the four-passenger Autonomous Mode, the car is fully autonomous and suitable for city-cruising and high-speed touring, while the two-seat Sport Mode maximizes downforce to increase performance on open mountain roads and race tracks.
The Bipolar concept offers an aggressive and stylish look in Autonomous Mode, which attracts attention in the city with its unique ‘teardrop’ overall shape and massive Trident emblem projected on the grille.
The Sport Mode gives the car a more technical, stealth-like impression at first glance; its brutal and racy features subtlety designed on the body make the car immediately noticeable to passerby and other road users. It’s slightly more classic proportions reference late 70’s sports car such as Maserati Bora and Lancia Stratos Concept.
Overall, we were impressed by Wu’s work yet again and look forward to seeing his work progress as he enters his second semester MA studies at Pforzheim in the fall.
