This is an interview Kaban held a few years ago, I am still waiting for his first concepts tomsurface as BMWs current designs would not go along with his past statements at all...
Kaban says he was able to draw on his experience with the Veyron to define Skoda’s new design language, which he calls “the elegant, to the point and practical”.
“There is a similarity in the simplicity… both are reduced to a minimum,” he says. It is an ethic that aligns with his former charge, Audi (which he describes as “proud and motivated – a perfect brand to work for”).
But Kaban think that there is room to maneuver within that philosophy: “I like Audi designs, but we are concentrating on our route, which will produce a different kind of simplicity.”
Kaban cites Apple’s clean, minimalist products as great examples of design and technology that work together perfectly, without being bound by an excess of detail. “Complicated, it is easier to do,” he says.
This position very much in agreement with F. A. Porsche’s credo that “a formally coherent product needs no embellishment,” and that “good design must be honest”. (Incidentally, in 2008, Porsche studio designed the elegant ‘109 And’ electric locomotive for Skoda Transport (away from the Skoda Auto since 1991).)