Honda CR-Z project
Welcome to the Car to Couture Jewellery Project - a collaboration between Honda and award-winning designer Rachel Galley, to produce a futuristic headpiece from parts of the sporty hybrid CR-Z.
The eye-catching piece - inspired by Honda's ethos; the Power of Dreams - is a visual representation of a cluster of thoughts. From the main headpiece descends a curved spine graphically linking the head and the heart. Rachel's creative signature of a textured, honeycombe-like finish, meant she was immediately attracted to the idea of using the car's grille as the basis of the piece.
Red, blue and green crystals are nestled within the structure so that from different angles it appears a different colour. This subtly echoes the car's innovative 3-mode drive system: green for ECON, blue for NORMAL and red for SPORT.
Manipulating car parts proved an exciting challenge for a designer who usually works with precious metals. Much of the development process took place in a car workshop near her home.
"As a child, my Dad, who was a civil engineer, was always encouraging me to help him solder pipe work so it felt very natural experimenting with parts of the CR-Z."
"In all my work I draw inspiration from natural textures and objects from everyday life so it was interesting to look at a car in an entirely different way. As part of my research, I spent some time at Honda's Swindon plant in the UK, meeting the technicians and seeing how cars are put together. I've learnt a huge amount and I've really enjoyed driving the CR-Z. As someone who spends their life thinking about design, I appreciate its style and hybrid technology."
The Honda CR-Z is the world's first sporty hybrid coupé.
Rachel will be exhibiting the Honda Headpiece as part of the International Motor Show in Geneva during March 2011
The Car:
The Honda CR-Z is the world's first sporty hybrid coupe. It combines the advantages of a clean, efficient petrol electric hybrid system with a 6-speed manual transmission and a stylish coupe body. Designed for forward-thinking urbanites, it challenges preconceptions of hybrids, mixing low fuel consumption and exhaust emissions with fun driving dynamics.
Its sprightly 1.5-litre petrol engine is complemented by an electric motor. When the car decelerates, the hybrid system collects the energy that would normally be lost as heat and uses it to charge the on-board batteries. Then, when rapid acceleration is required, the battery powers an electric motor that works in unison with the petrol engine to provide sporty performance.
The result is a coupe that can manage 0-100 kmh (0-62mph) in 9.9sec but emits just 117g/km of carbon dioxide and achieves an average consumption of 5.0 litres/100km (56.4mpg).
The CR-Z also has an innovative 3-Mode Drive System, which allows you to maximise performance, economy or strike a balance between the two. SPORT mode sharpens the throttle response, changes the behaviour of the IMA hybrid system to provide more electric motor assistance and increases the weight of the power steering.
ECON mode, by contrast, adjusts the hybrid system and the air-conditioning to minimise fuel consumption.
NORMAL mode provides a balance between performance, economy and emissions and suits most driving situations. SPORT mode is identified by red speedometer graphics while ECON and NORMAL modes feature blue lighting, turning to green when the car is driven economically.
The CR-Z has also recently proved itself one of Europe's safest cars. It was awarded a maximum five star rating by the independent crash testers, Euro NCAP.
News
Photos from the International Motor Show in Geneva - 7th March 2011
Rachel has just returned from the International Motor Show in Geneva where she exhibited the Honda headpiece for the first time, as Honda unveiled the new Sporty Hybrid CR-Z to the press and public.
Here are some photos from the event:
