Automotive

Published on March 8th, 2018 | by Subhash Nair

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The HK GT Pininfarina is an Electric Tourer Concept with Gull-wing doors

One year after the global debut of the luxury sedan H600 at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, followed by the unveiling of the five seater SUV K550 and seven seater SUV K750 at the 2017 Shanghai Motor Show, Pininfarina presents the 2018 HK GT, the fourth concept car conceived together with Hybrid Kinetic Group, the emerging hi-tech brand based in Hong Kong.

With the HK GT, Pininfarina interprets a classic architecture of the Italian automobile school, the Gran Turismo, while continuing to refine the identity and the formal language of the Hybrid Kinetic brand.

Sensuality, power, and elegance. Three simple words to define the external style of the HK GT. In the best tradition of the Italian “carrozzeria”, the HK GT concept car presents compact and voluptuous volumes and surfaces with soft transitions, finely structured by subtle sharp lines.

The car, boasting appealing proportions, has a 2+2 configuration entirely unveiled by the opening of gull-wing doors. The GT is characterized by a long, sculpted bonnet and a slightly curved line that gently descends to the rear, so as to rest the pavilion on the car body, bringing it closer to the rear wheel as in the great Gran Turismo of the past. The trend of this line is partially emphasized by a thin chrome molding that flows elegantly from the front to the contour of the side glass surfaces, one of the stylistic features of the Hybrid Kinetic brand already embodied in the 2017 creations.

The front view presents a new interpretation of the HK grille, in which the chromed slats open like petals up to frame the high-tech headlights, giving the car a charismatic, almost magnetic look. The stunning overall profile, fluid and essential, lives of a play of volumes that depart from the side vent to merge into a powerful and sculpted rear.

The interior is designed to express, even when stationary, the driving pleasure that characterizes a high performance Gran Turismo. Shapes, volumes, colors and materials are carefully chosen and contribute to the expression of modernity and distinction.

The light and floating dashboard is treated with a sophisticated creamy white color and with bright orange stitching and details. It departs from the minimalist equipment behind the steering wheel, and then extends into an elegant embrace towards the rear seats, which by contrast are covered with a magnificent grey leather with vintage treatment and packaged with a “capitonné” of great refinement. This antagonism of color treatments underlines the double soul of the GT.

To transmit lightness to the passenger compartment, two stylistic solutions were adopted: the front seats are seemingly suspended from the central tunnel, while a part of the rear backrest is formed by a suspended wing that cancels the old separation between passenger compartment  and trunk, thus giving the interior a more spacious feeling. Crowning this game of colors and materials is a very important detail for the HK brand: the new “HK texture”, symbolic of the brand’s premium positioning. It starts from the rear seats and slopes down to reach the door panels, like the leaves of an ivy that climbs elegantly down a wall. But the HK GT is a car with a dual personality – race and Gran Turismo – and it is precisely to underline this double soul of the car that the interior offers two different modes of experience: “race”, for moments of solitary and hedonistic sports driving, and “cruise” for great routes to be shared with the family.

In the “race” mode, the interior is dressed in red lighting, clearly of race origin. In order to allow the driver to concentrate on driving, the display behind the steering wheel (minimal cluster display) transmits only essential technical information, while the central setting display provides information on all driving parameters (suspension settings, acceleration, speed track cornering, etc.). In the “cruise” mode, however, the interior is washed in blue and offers a more comfortable mobility solution, with information sharing between all the passengers of the car.

On the dashboard, in front of the passenger, a large touch screen appears with access to connectivity (navigation, e-mail) and entertainment (film, music…), while the door panels are animated thanks to a long interactive screen, which allows the circulation and exchange of information between the front and rear seats. The screen on the tunnel (central setting display) now allows passengers to configure the environment of the car (such as air conditioning – air quality), and becomes functional even for the rear seats.

The HK GT concept car embodies an additional piece of the Hybrid Kinetic range with elegance and avant-gardism. It is a perfect combination of pure design and environment-conscious technology, displaying a formal balance between refinement, sportiness and up-to-the-minute aesthetics that exemplifies the concept of exclusivity.

HK powertrain technology

The HK GT is equipped with 38 KWh of HK’s super batteries, 4 integrated PM motors with a combined power output of over 800KW, and 2-speed transmission. This setup will allow the vehicle to reach a top speed of 350 km/h and a 0-100km acceleration of 2.7 seconds. The torque vectoring system provides torque distribution among the four wheels which have its own motors for greater control and stability. In addition, the GT is also equipped with a regenerative braking system.

HK clean energy vehicles can be equipped with three different range extenders: a low-emission microturbine generator range extender which accepts a variety of fuels, a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell system range extender, or a highly efficient internal combustion engine range extender.

 

Powertrain: ……………………independent permanent magnet motors with 2-speed transmission; microturbine range-extender or zero-emission fuel cell range-extender, as well as ICE range-extender)

Package: …………………………………………………… 2 doors, 4 seats

Chassis: …………………………………….. ………………………   Aluminium

Top speed: …………………………….……………………………    350 km/h

0-100 km/h acceleration: …………………………………………  2.7sec

Maximum power delivery of electric motors: ……………… Over 800 kW

Battery System…………………………………………………………..38Kwh

Driving Range – Pure electric mode…………………………….Over160km

Driving Range – extended range mode: …………………… Over 1000km


About the Author

Written work on dsf.my. @subhashtag on instagram. Autophiles Malaysia on Youtube.



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