The time has come to announce the interior of the Feifan R7 and test the co-creation model

Abstract: "Not complicated, that is, extraordinary" is not only the design concept of the Feifan R7, but also the result of its presentation. However, in order to achieve "no complexity", behind it is an "extraordinary" effort, and it is an "extraordinary" co-creation model

Wen | Guo Yu

Editor| Zhao Cheng

Who is Feifan Cars? Born from SAIC Motor, it will be market-oriented as an independent company in November 2021. The registered capital is 7 billion yuan, of which SAIC motor invests 6.65 billion yuan and the employee shareholding platform contributes 350 million yuan.

The Feifan R7 is the first flagship model of Feifan Automobile after it began independent operation. Since its official release in November 2021, pre-sales have been launched in February 2022, and PPV prefabricated mass production vehicles have rolled off the production line in March. Today, the announcement of smart cockpit details has further revealed the true face of the Feifan R7. From the unveiling to the announcement of the interior, Feifan only took six months, reflecting the advantages of Feifan Automobile's asset-light operation model from the side.

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What should an SUV that must have both a sense of technology and an aesthetic taste look like? The Feifan R7 gave its own answer.

On May 7, Feifan Automobile spoiled the cockpit details of its flagship model, the Feifan R7, for the first time. The Trinity multi-dimensional sensory interaction wisdom module, which integrates vision, hearing and touch, embodies the sense of technology, and the aesthetic taste is checked by Martin Kropp, the chief designer of the Flying R7. Martin Kropp was the chief designer of Volkswagen, and his Design Volkswagen CC has won international design awards such as the Best Design Quality Award at the German Industrial Design Awards and the IF Product Design Award. Now he has come to Feifan and given the Feifan R7 a simple design concept of "not complicated, that is, extraordinary".

The design concept of "no complexity, that is, extraordinary" is reflected in the details of the interior and exterior decoration of the Feifan R7.

Just a screen in the car can read a lot of details. A single central control large screen is becoming a thing of the past, and the triple screen that integrates the dashboard, the central control screen and the co-driver screen has become the latest trend and the selling point of car companies. The Feifan R7 has also seized the latest trend and launched a 43-inch wide true color triple screen. The difference is that R7 adopts an integrated glass encapsulation process, which is visually unified and has a strong sense of wholeness. In addition, the Feifan R7 10.25-inch instrument screen and 12.3-inch co-driver screen are the same as the 2021 iPad Pro and MacBook series, with high resolution, which can automatically adjust the screen brightness under different lights.

Different from the common SUV boxy shape, the Feifan R7 adopts a streamlined slipback, pressurized front and rear rear shape, which enhances its aerodynamic performance. Not only that, in order to obtain the ideal wind resistance coefficient, the design team also introduced low wind resistance wheels, hidden door handles, and frameless doors of the same model of luxury cars.

"Not complicated, that is, extraordinary" is not only the design concept of the Feifan R7, but also the result of its presentation. However, in order to achieve "no complexity", behind it is an "extraordinary" effort, and it is an "extraordinary" co-creation model.

Behind the "not complicated", "extraordinary" co-creation model

"Since its inception, Feifan Automobile has implemented the concept of co-creation in every link from product definition, service design to ecological layout." Wu Bing, CEO of Feifan Automobile, said.

The formation of the concept of co-creation originates from the user thinking of Feifan Automobile. Feifan Automobile positions itself as a "user-oriented, data-driven automotive technology company." The user-centric statement has been mentioned by many car companies. But on the one hand, it still depends on how to practice it. Feifan Automobile chose to make full use of SAIC's powerful industrial chain resources and established a co-creation center through the model of in-depth co-creation.

On March 10, Feifan Automobile and SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute jointly established the Feifan Design Co-creation Center, integrating saic design center and global design resources. At present, the exclusive team size is about 60 people, and the functions cover forward-looking design, digital, clay model, color, HMI, user research and other modules. The works designed by the team have won more than 30 world-class industrial design awards such as the German Red Dot Award, the IF Design Award, and the GMARK Design Award in Japan.

Once the talent is in place, how to make full use of it is the next problem. "Communication" is the only way to solve the problem.

In the Feifan Design Co-creation Center, when the model project is launched, designers from Shanghai and around the world will fully communicate with the relevant teams of Feifan Automobile from the aspects of brand concept, forward-looking design research, to model design language, etc., to gather consensus with better design. In addition, with the product design cycle, the brainstorming team composed of brand experts, technical experts, design experts, etc. will also regularly gather in the Feifan Design Co-creation Center to design services the premise of user experience, after full communication and discussion, cohesion of consensus, and continuous polishing of products.

Since it is the user's thinking, the communication with the user cannot be left behind. Feifan Design Co-creation Center will regularly organize co-creation activities for external media, car owners and potential users to discover user needs.

It is worth mentioning that on March 10, the Feifan Intelligent Driving Co-creation Center was also established, and the follow-up will also set up a smart cabin and a three-electric co-creation center, which will help promote the further landing of the "extremely intelligent driving strategy" of Feifan Automobile. "Extreme intelligent driving strategy" refers to the wisdom cabin, intelligent driving, three electric, the three drive Feifan Automobile to achieve the vision of "high-end pure electric intelligent mobile space". At the same time, with the blessing of the concept of co-creation, it provides users with personalized services and better experiences for smart travel.

Wu Bing said: "Feifan Automobile not only insists on co-creation with users, but also firmly co-creates with internal and external ecological partners in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. The co-creation center with SAIC Innovation Research and Development Institute is not only the embodiment of the strategic landing of Feifan Automobile's asset-light independent operation model, but also a powerful exploration of our ability to rely on SAIC's high-quality resources, integrate the latest self-owned technology, and quickly seize the commanding heights of the core technology of intelligent electric vehicles. ”

How co-creation models bring "extraordinary"

To achieve the design concept of "not complicated, that is, extraordinary", it is bound to face the problem of how to balance function and design beauty. The advantage of the co-creation model is that designers and engineering teams communicate more frequently, solve problems more easily under consensus, and solve problems more creatively.

Smart driving is becoming the standard for a smart car, and one of the hardware that enables smart driving, lidar, is also being installed on the body of more cars. It is such a common piece of hardware that Feifan Automobile encountered problems in developing and designing. Feifan Automobile told Caijing Automobile (ID: caijingqiche) that during the development process, because the lidar style could not be changed, it was necessary to actively match the styling design to minimize the abruptness of the radar on the roof. At the same time, the cooling, sealing and noise reduction problems caused by the heating and noise of the lidar system should also be considered. Finally, the design team and engineers worked together to design a unique natural wind structure that solved both problems.

▲ Courtesy of the enterprise

In pursuit of the sporty performance of the SUV and the desired drag coefficient, the design team made improvements at the wheel hub, door handles and doors, while taking into account the minimalist design concept.

In general, the smoother and smoother the overall line of the car, the smaller the body accessories can effectively reduce the wind resistance. Based on this, the design team of Feifan Automobile adopted frameless doors that were originally equipped for the convertible sports car and had extremely high requirements for manufacturing technology, with hidden door handles, which improved the aerodynamic performance of the Feifan R7. The hubs use splicing techniques, and the carbon fiber inserts achieve lightweighting while creating a rich visual layer in the flat structure.

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There are many examples of design and engineering teams "stumbling" together, and many more can be found on the Feifan R7.

For example, its flying wing type runs through the DRL day running light, and the simple shape poses a huge challenge to the modular space behind the lighting components. In order to meet both design and functional requirements, the design team used the latest lighting system to integrate near and far lighting in very small units, while meeting the triple needs of space, lighting and heat dissipation.

Of course, the design concept of "not complicated, that is, extraordinary" is not for the sake of simplicity and simplicity, but the original intention of truly serving the user's thinking.

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As a medium and large SUV, the wheelbase of the Feifan R7 is up to 2950mm, but Feifan Automobile hopes that the user's spacious feeling of the R7 is not only digital, but also allows users to feel the one-piece canopy with a wide field of vision. The design team innovatively adopted a double-layer insulated panoramic canopy, and the material was made of silver-plated low-emissivity glass, which can effectively isolate 99.9% of ultraviolet rays while improving the thermal insulation effect.

For motorists, a good head-up display (HUD) can make driving much easier. The Feifan R7 is equipped with the world's first mass-produced Huawei vision enhanced AR-HUD head-up system. The large field of view of 13°*5° and the high resolution of 1920*730 can realize lane-level real-life navigation, real-time ADAS and other information display.

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In addition to the visual, the tactile user's thinking is also reflected. For example, the interior material of the Feifan R7 achieves super 90% soft package coverage. The front seats are equipped with a ventilated massage to enhance the comfort of the seats. The rear seat cushions are lengthened and raised at the front for better thigh support. In addition, the Feifan R7 is one of the rarest models in its class to have both frameless doors and inductive electric doors.

▲ Courtesy of the enterprise

The appearance of the Feifan R7 intelligent cockpit is the first step in testing the co-creation model of Feifan Automobile, and to a certain extent, it has reflected the advantages brought by the co-creation model behind it. Next, there are also the co-creation achievements of intelligent driving and three electrics, which are worth looking forward to.

According to the plan, the Feifan R7 will begin delivery in the second half of this year. Whether it is quality or sales, the co-creation model of Feifan R7 is waiting for the test of time.