The Concept Coupe highlights the problem of poor visibility in modern vehicles and promotes the idea that the windscreen pillar (A-pillar) could be eliminated.
A significant influence on vehicle styling today is crash protection. A relatively inexpensive method of improving crash protection is to increase the thickness of the windscreen A-pillar. This creates a particularly unpleasant driving environment with its associated reduction in visibility.
The problems associated with A-pillars are not widely appreciated. Drivers of road vehicles are generally unaware of the many physiological factors that make it difficult to identify a risk of collision in the direction of the A-pillar (unlike private pilots who are required by the Civil Aviation Authority to pass an exam in human physiological limitations before they receive their licence). Unfortunately the handful of safety studies conducted on A-pillar obscuration have been fairly inconclusive.
For this reason, the selling point of the Concept Coupe is not improved safety but the sheer joy of driving a vehicle with an eye-opening degree of visibility.
On a technical note, the Concept Coupe's massive window area is facilitated by the unique cantilever roof. Its rigidity is derived from a boron-steel structure, while modern seals ensure reliable glass-to-glass joins in the vicinity of a conventional door.
