Designer
Amogh Barakol is an automotive designer from India. He started studying Mechanical Engineering but he quickly realised that he wanted to design cars.
In that spirit, he moved to Italy where he graduated from the transportation design course at the Instituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin. He would have started his first internship in March 2020 if it wasn’t for the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.
After a difficult year he is back on track, revisiting one of his projects with a renewed spirit while actively looking for a new internship.
Amogh got the idea for the DS Anamorph in March 2020 as part of an internship design contest. He developed the concept car in a week of intensive work and even though he wasn’t selected for the job, he ended up with something he’s proud of. In January 2021, he decided to revisit his design and started 3D modelling using Blender software.
“My personal design philosophy is that design is all about creating meaning and beauty in the objects we surround ourselves with,” he said.
“I like to incorporate artistic ideas and themes in my work to create intriguing, thought-provoking concepts. My creative edge is supported by my background in engineering and it certainly helps in keeping my concepts at least, somewhat feasible.”
Project
The DS Anamorph is a halo concept car for DS Automobiles, utilising an extreme version of the French carmaker’s avant-garde design language with DNA helix as the main theme, a one-seater cabin, and asymmetric design details.
“I had the DS X E tense (2018) concept in mind while researching for this project. It is a very striking car with a very polarising design theme,” Amogh said.
“That sort of approach to asymmetry felt a bit too extreme to me. So I decided to apply asymmetry as a visual element, without messing with the actual form of the car.”
The most distinctive view of the Anamorph is the top view. There we can clearly see the swirl of lines that resemble a helix around the narrow cockpit that has room only for the driver.
One side of the helix is highlighted with shut lines, while the other looks like muscles beneath the bodywork.
Overall, the Anamorph resembles a sculpted bottle of an expensive fragrance. Or we could say that the bodywork looks like stretched fabric covering an organic skeleton.
From the eyes of its designer: “The DS Anamorph is a design exercise in balancing the duality of art & science to create a unique vehicle concept.”
In profile, the Anamorph is characterised by mid-engine hypercar proportions. The body is visually divided in two parts, the main metallic shell and the lower forged carbon-fibre panels serving an aerodynamic purpose.
The sharp nose, low-slung body with curves dictated by the air, large wheels with polished aerodynamic covers, massive aero components, and long rear overhang make it clear this car was designed for performance and style.
The curve behind the glass frames the side air intakes, while also presenting a dynamic highlight of the concept car.
At the front, the shark-nose is characterised by a wide opening. The grille has a honeycomb pattern inspired by the DS logo, and is bisected by a vertical fin in the middle.
The low-positioned headlights appearing from the darkness of the intake feature large, thin LED rings for a menacing and timeless look.
The prominent splitter made of forged carbon-fibre expands in large vertical fins on each side of the front bumper, reaching above the headlights, while additional supporting fins connect them with the recessed bodywork.
A large DS emblem proudly sits on the triangular bonnet, surrounded by wide fenders. The car is significantly thinner in the middle, emphasising the width of the front and rear tracks, while the narrow cockpit is clearly inspired by aeronautics.
The rear deck doesn’t have a windscreen for a monolithic look. It repeats the triangular shape of the front, with razor sharp edges. The rear overhang is long, but the forged carbon fibre on the sides and rear bumper enhances the visual lightness.
The “parametric” LED taillights are one of the signature design features of the Anamorph, consisting of a polygonal chain with a higher density in the middle, framed by an arch.
Below there is an intake and a slim bumper incorporating a large diffuser.
Amogh didn’t provide us with pictures of the interior, but we can see a different jewel-like pattern for the top of the dashboard expanding in small triangles on the bodywork, a rectangular steering wheel, and a single seat upholstered in suede.
Verdict
The DS Anamorph is a beautiful concept with extreme proportions, heavily sculpted bodywork, and dramatic styling.
It proposes a bold design language for DS, incorporating many avant-garde characteristics, while its gently asymmetric nature inspired by the DNA helix does its best to please the eye.
Overall this concept makes a statement and this is what a newly-established premium brand like DS Automobiles needs to grasp the attention of its target audience.
Amogh managed to create an art piece without the absurd forms of the DS X E tense (2018) concept that looked like something went wrong during its creation.
There might be a few design details that could be further refined – like the aero components and the lighting – in order to look more like a DS. However we must not forget this design study was created for show purposes from a recent graduate.
If you liked the DS Anamorph, you can follow Amogh Barakol on Instagram for more projects like this.
