In the car country there is always enough food for speculation. After all, behind closed doors, the manufacturers work on models that sometimes only see the light of day after several years of fine-tuning, testing and optimization. In the section ‘Blik to the Future’ we get a glimpse into the future on the basis of illustrations. These are the 10 best-read future predictions of the past year.
It is already known how a number of predictions eventually came to fruition. That way we can judge whether the illustrator was a little bit right. However, the list also includes future models where we only have a somewhat substantiated suspicion of the appearance, such as the Volkswagen ID1 or the new Opel Astra. Whether the crystal ball is ultimately right remains to be seen. These ten previews were apparently found to be the most interesting:
10. Peugeot 3008
It was recently facelifted, but the renewed Peugeot 3008 has not yet received the full, new family look of Peugeot. For example, the headlights with the three vertical LED bars as daytime running lights are still missing. Peugeot is probably going that way for the next generation of the 3008. Our illustrator already gave an impression of that appearance. Successful?
9. BMW i4
It is not surprising that the yet to be revealed i4 is in this top list. Rumors about the electric 4-series have been circulating for a while, but BMW is still taking the time to unveil the final variant. Until then, the drawings of our illustrator should offer solace. It is obvious that the final i4 will show quite a few similarities with the i4 Concept. In essence, it will really just be a 4-series Gran Coupé with an electric powertrain. As was the case with the iX, the controversial ‘grille’ is also expected to make its appearance on the i4.
The i4 will be quite similar to the current 4-series.
8. Citroën C4
Where we do not yet know what the previous two cars in this list will look like, that is not the case with the Citroën C4! Was our illustrator a little right? Partly, because although the front of the final C4 looks a lot like the drawings, the rear turned out to be much more outlandish than we could suspect at the beginning of this year.
7. Volkswagen Nivus
With the Citroen C4, our illustrator was not quite right, but in the case of the Volkswagen Nivus, the outlook is quite right with the production version unveiled mid-year. The compact crossover – format T-Cross – is primarily intended for the South American market. He will also make his appearance here next year. Nice detail: in Europe it is the first crossover / SUV for which Volkswagen is leaving the ‘T’ as the initial letter.
Almost real! The final Nivus differs from our illustration only in detail.
6. Dacia Sandero
For the Sandero, Dacia had something different in store than we initially thought. Yes, it got LED viewers, but the continuous LED strip that our illustrator had incorporated into the grille of his vision of the future apparently did not occur to Dacia’s design department. At the rear, the similarities are slightly better, but Dacia drew the rear lights a bit sharper. The upwardly sloping window line was then again an accurate prediction.
5. Volkswagen ID1
Very little concrete information is actually known about the Volkswagen ID1. That makes it all the more interesting to predict what Volkswagen’s smallest electric car might look like. The ID1 in the illustration clearly matches its bigger brothers, the ID3 and ID4. For example, it has the characteristic LED strip of the ID family on the front and the pattern that the ID3 has on the C-pillar also returns on the ID1. The final result will probably take until 2023.
An ID3 washed just a little too hot?
4. Dacia Spring
Two months before Dacia finally pulled the curtain off the Spring, our illustrator was still looking ahead to the cheap electric car. It should come as no surprise that the illustrations resemble the final result like two drops of water. After all, Dacia had already shown a concept version of the Spring and the patent drawings of the production model were already known.
3. Opel Astra
Since the takeover by PSA, the accelerator has been considerably pressed at Opel. After the Corsa and the Mokka, the Astra is on the roll to be lifted in a completely new look. That means that he gets French genetics under the skin, but also a tighter design. In the illustrations, the Astra has a window and roofline that resembles that of the Corsa, but at the front it is more like the new Mokka. We hope to know for sure at the end of this year.
A German with French genes, that’s the new Opel Astra.
2. BMW 4 Series
Something with an elephant and a room? You couldn’t ignore it with the new 4-series: the grille. At the beginning of this year, our illustrator made a very accurate prediction of what the 4 Series production model would look like. In the responses, the discussion immediately started: one loved the new design, the other was disgusted by it. Be that as it may, given the recently unveiled iX and the i4 on the roll, it looks like BMW will hold on to this face for a while.
1. Volkswagen Tiguan
Which creature from our illustrator’s crystal ball were you most curious about? That was the new Volkswagen Tiguan, which will take a while. However, the design seems to be heading in the predictable direction. For example, an LED bar is present at the rear, in line with the latest trend. Incidentally, it does not seem likely that a fully electric version of the Tiguan will come. After all, Volkswagen has set up the ID family for that. But never say ‘never’ …