The Pininfarina studio has just unveiled a latest concept, Nido, which is an attractive, small and safe vehicle geared at replacing densely populated urban environments with low emissions vehicle.
The Nido has a separate passenger compartment built inside the concept’s frame and body that is connected to the outer shell with energy absorbing cushions placed around the passenger’s compartment.
The Nido project mainly concentrated on the development and prototyping of new solutions involving both the structure and the design of a small two-seater car with the objective of increasing levels of safety for both the occupants and pedestrians.
The front of the vehicle has been deformed and the remaining loads have been transferred to the rear of the vehicle via the floor panels, side members, doors and the structure as a whole. Seatbelts and airbags are present.
The chassis consists of a deformable front section and a rigid safety cell surrounding the occupants. It supports all the mechanical components, such as the front and rear suspension, the engine etc. the new chassis concept has an improved energy absorption capacity in collisions and excellent torsional stiffness.
The overall architecture and the box shape allow more room for the motion of the sled shell.
In terms of safety, the front moulding is completely covered with a cushion of energy absorbing material to present safer surfaces in case of collisions.
The headlights are mounted high to increase the deformable area presented during collision with a pedestrian. In addition to an indicator light, the wing mirror incorporates a white reflector to ensure visibility at night when the vehicle is parked.
The dash assembly serves a dual role: it houses the instruments and is an integral part of the sled shell, acting to compress the honeycomb absorber during a collision. Furthermore, the dash itself also performs an energy-absorbing role, as its internal components (heater, air pipes) have been designed to contribute to dissipating energy in a collision. The underdoor side member is larger than usual as it incorporates a number of ‘crashbox’ elements which absorb energy in a lateral collision.
The last stage in the project will consist in industrial feasibility studies for a hypothetical production of 100-120 cars per day for a total of 20,000 units over 5 years. Pininfarina has applied for patents for the innovative safety features developed as part of the Nido project.
