Tata Sierra Concept development
The Tata Sierra Concept was clearly the showstopper at the Auto Expo 2020, and Pratap Bose and his team at Tata Motors surely did a fantastic job with this concept. We had got quite a few of the details from Pratap regarding the concept's development during a chat with our Ed Sirish at the Auto Expo, starting with his statement that the entire project (done in Coventry, England) took six months to complete!
Pratap Bose recently shared on his LinkedIn profile some images of the Sierra in development stages that were the clay models at the prototype builders Envisage Group Limited in the UK who were responsible in building the Sierra Concept.
The main goal is to make the Sierra concept more relevant to today’s young generation. Hence they opted for an electric drivetrain, and also offers a unique concept of a screen-free interior to help folks detox from the digital age of continuously looking at screens, whether mobile or computer. The original Sierra was a status symbol and an aspirational vehicle in the 90s, and went on to become a cult classic. Tata looked to capitalise on this nostalgia and it proved to be a winning combo for them with the Sierra Concept getting loads of media coverage.
From these photos, you can see the different stages of development the concept car went through before it reached the expo floor. You start off first with the mock clay prototype to see if the proportions work as you are moving from 2D render to a physical 3D form Life-size model. Next, we see the various clay sculptures that try to get the fine lines and details just right to make that visual impact. The clay mock-up part of the design process is very essential as it also allows designers to understand the ergonomics of the car. Despite all the latest 3-D software, most car manufacturers still follow this old school process of building physical clay models as it allows them to fine tune their designs. It is really great to the design process that went about to create the Sierra concept and to Pratap Bose for being active on social media, championing the cause for an automotive design that we get to see the behind the scenes of an automotive design studio.
Check out our full Interview with Pratap Bose here :-
