The futuristic Enigma car project is intended to represent the height of automotive exclusivity. You could argue that the only thing that separates one Veyron or Phantom from the other is the color and trim that the first owner specifies from new, whereas with Enigma, the patination of the bronze on the roof of the car would develop with the owner over time. When the car is sold to its next owner, it would be taken back to the factory, the body panels removed and would be retained as a piece of automotive sculpture for their beautiful landscaped gardens. The next owner would get a new piece of bronze to start their own story. Paul Howse, the designer, really wanted it to be like a sculpture on wheels, a work of art.
BMW and Mercedes would have to struggle for lower emissions and higher fuel efficiency. With European CAFE regulations, measured in tailpipe CO2 emissions rather than fuel economy, also getting much tighter, Germany’s luxury automakers, too, are feeling the heat from global warming. Even Audi which can average out its CO2 figures across the entire VW Group portfolia, feeling the pressure to build more fuel-efficient cars and smaller body.
