Today, many models boast a high level of passive safety. But Pininfarina will try out non-standard solutions on the most vulnerable - a small city car, which cannot be made large enough to deform the body. The length of the "Nido" (in Italian - the nest) is only 2890 mm, the base of 2068 mm is a two-seater concept with a rear engine arrangement in layout and size close to Smart.
Designers of Pininfarina intentionally did not overload the body with stylistic refinements, emphasizing functionality. Plastic panels are just leather on the skeleton, which ensures the safety of the driver, passenger and pedestrians. The frame is made of stainless steel, which absorbs impact energy well and, of course, does not require anti-corrosion treatment. Some profiles are filled with foam.
But even such a skeleton does not provide reliable protection: the deformation zone is too small. To understand how to safely dissipate tremendous power, the designers painted … an egg. If it is raw or soft-boiled, a thin shell pricks at the slightest impact and does not protect the contents. And if hard-boiled - the outer shell, of course, will crack, but the impact will extinguish the dense organic mass.
In Nido, the role of the shell is played by the body. In the middle of the “egg” there is a slide (seats are fixed on them) that can move forward 350 mm and backward 120 mm. And between this core and the shell are absorbers made of porous material, acting like a spring. They significantly reduce the retardation of the slide and (no less important) make it permanent. The dashboard is also involved in shock absorption. Neither the hard steering column nor the pedal unit will damage the driver in an accident. They simply are not there - in “Pininfarino-Nido” they used wire control, without rods and other iron.
The interior is finished with soft materials, even the internal door handles are belt hinges. But what about additional equipment? He is not, which, according to the creators of the concept, compensates for the costs of more important security. And how much is needed in short city trips - an electronic organizer, a telephone? They are easy to fix with a special Velcro on the right seat, dashboard or a powerful body tunnel.
