Izera: The Polish Electric Car Inspired by Art & Nature
On 28th July 2020, the Polish electric car brand Izera was introduced to the public. During the presentation of two elegant-looking prototypes, plans were announced for mass production in the near future. Culture.pl takes a look at Izera’s designs and features, as well as how the prototypes were inspired by Polish art and nature.
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Izera electric car, manufacturer: ElectroMobility Poland, photo: press materials, https://izera.pl
The Izera Mountains in the southwest fringes of Poland are a region of beauty and open nature (part of this range lies also in Czechia). The highest peak of this gentle range is Poland’s Wysoka Kopa reaching up to 1,126 metres above sea level, while the picturesque River Izera cuts through the region. It’s also home to the Izera Dark-Sky Park, a 7,500-hectare park created in 2009, the mission of which is to protect the night sky from artificial light and facilitate star observation. The park is located both in Poland and Czechia – in the upper part of the Izera valley and in the Jizerka valley.
Text
[…] This area is sparsely populated and well shielded by mountain ridges from lights of towns and villages located in the Izera Mountains and in the vicinity. Moreover it is a very interesting and environmentally valuable region, thus it is worth to include nocturnal darkness preservation in existing nature conservation. Additionally both valleys are easily accessible for tourists.
Author
From izera-darksky.eu, the website of the Izera Dark-Sky Park
Somewhat surprisingly, the Izera Mountains recently became the inspiration for the creators of a new brand of Polish electric cars. Named after the mountain range, the Izera brand was created by ElectroMobility Poland, a Polish company founded in 2016.
A very distinctive character
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Izera electric car, manufacturer: ElectroMobility Poland, photo: press materials, https://izera.pl
ElectroMobility Poland turned to the Izera Mountians for inspiration because of the beauty of that region’s natural wonders, but also simply because the range’s name (pronounced: eeh-ZHE-rah) has a pleasant ring to it. The company presented its electric car brand to the public on 28th July 2020 at a special event organised at an exhibition hall in Sokołów near Warsaw. The two Izera prototypes unveiled were a hatchback and an SUV. The vehicles are the result of four years of work and research.
The prototypes were designed by an international team composed of Polish engineers as well as workers of Torino Design, an Italian automotive design studio founded by Roberto Piatti. The renowned Polish car designer Tadeusz Jelec, who was involved with Jaguar for 30 years, also worked on the vehicles.
Both of the prototypes have elegant, pleasant shapes. Their bodies are largely devoid of sharp angles, which gives them a fluid look. The hatchback has a bit of a sporting vibe to it, whereas the SUV, although bigger, doesn’t seem at all heavy. Both vehicles have short overhangs and passenger compartments reaching close to the front axle – features that are characteristic of modern electric cars.
Piatti, who was present at the unveiling, said that the cars’ lights, which are very similar in both models, reference the Izera Mountains. Indeed, when you give the lights a closer look you can see in them shapes that bring to mind gentle hill slopes. Also, the lights include intriguing-looking arrays of shining points which somewhat resemble stars in the night sky. This seems to be a nod to the aforementioned dark-sky park. Thanks to the characteristic and appealing lights, the Izera models have a unique look – there’s no risk of mistaking the prototypes for any other car.
Furthermore, Izera’s vehicles are meant to be family-friendly, and this is another thing that links them to their namesake mountain range:
Text
With their mild hills and vast areas, the [Izera] mountains are perfect for family trips and have a very distinctive character. Just like our car does.
Author
Paweł Tomaszek from ElectroMobility Poland, from izera.pl
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Izera electric car, manufacturer: ElectroMobility Poland, photo: press materials, https://izera.pl
Pleasingly for Polish culture fans, apart from drawing inspiration from Polish nature, Izera also references Polish art.
Text
We spent long hours designing the appearance of the prototype. Browsing through the works of contemporary Polish artists, we looked for inspirations and reference points to underline the Polish character of our brand. At the same time, it was extremely important to us that the shape of the car evokes positive emotions. After all, this is supposed to be a family car.
Author
Tadeusz Jelec, from izera.pl
The Izera designers say they were inspired by the works of artists such as avant-garde pioneer Katarzyna Kobro, sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz, and painter Magdalena Karpińska. Apparently, these artists’ works were referenced in the design of the interior (at the unveiling only the hatchback had a fully-furnished interior, the inside of the SUV wasn’t complete yet). Although there’s little information about how exactly the aforementioned artists influenced Izera’s design, it is known that Karpińska’s colour schemes impacted the choice of colours in the interior.
The main colour in the interior is a warm ecru or light beige which gives the inside a cosy, family character. This tone is tastefully juxtaposed with blue and black elements. The interior is also rather spacious, which makes it fit for family needs. Another family-friendly aspect of the inside is that it’s equipped with special handles, making it easier for small kids to get into the car. An additional nice touch can be found in the front where there’s a special compartment for a woman’s purse.
The modern character of the interior is highlighted by the digital dashboard, which handsomely merges with a digital touchscreen located in the centre of the front. Other state-of-the-art features inside include a wireless smartphone charger and programmable buttons on the steering wheel. The passengers in the rear will be able to use the fold-out tray tables and magnetic phone grips located in the backs of the front seats.
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Izera electric car, manufacturer: ElectroMobility Poland, photo: press materials, https://izera.pl
When it comes to the cars’ technical details, these seem to be well in line with current developments in the field of electric cars. Once fully ready (after the prototype phase is through), the vehicles will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries that will let you drive up to 400 km on a single charge. The batteries will make use of fast-charge stations as well as home chargers.
The top speed of the two Izera models will be distinctly family-friendly too; it won’t exceed 160 km per hour. But the acceleration, on the other hand, will let you experience some motorsport-like emotions; the cars will reach 100 km per hour in less than 8 seconds!
Also, some of the cars’ functions will be accessible via a dedicated smartphone app:
Text
Users will be able to download a dedicated app to their smartphone or another mobile device and remotely start air-conditioning when the car is charging. Additionally, it will have the option of selecting charging time and cycle to reduce the charging cost.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Izera cars will be equipped with state-of-the-art driving assistance systems: FCW (forward collision warning system), BSW (blind spot detection system) and TSR (traffic-sign recognition system). All in all, it seems that Izera’s vehicles will guarantee high driving comfort.
Affordable & eco-friendly
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Izera electric car, manufacturer: ElectroMobility Poland, photo: press materials, https://izera.pl
At the unveiling of the prototypes, ElectroMobility Poland announced its plans to put the vehicles into mass production. This caused quite a bit of excitement amongst Polish car aficionados, as Poland hasn’t had a mass-produced domestic car since 2002 when the production of the venerable Polonez came to a halt. That old-school automobile was designed in the 1970s, and although it can sometimes still be seen in Polish streets, it belongs to a past era.
Today ElectroMobility Poland is looking to build a car factory in the region of Silesia (the exact spot hasn’t been revealed), where the production of Izeras could start by 2023. The company wants to eventually manufacture 100,000 vehicles per year. Apart from the two models shown in Sokołów, there are plans for three other ones. Little is currently known about these additional models – apart from that they will all, of course, be electric and designed in a similar style to the first two.
The prices of the new brand’s vehicles aren’t known yet, but they will supposedly be affordable enough for the average Polish family to purchase. Izera is also planning to export its cars to offer them to buyers outside of Poland.
Those concerned with climate change may feel warmly toward the Izera brand. After all, if people switched from petrol cars to electric ones, there would be fewer car fumes contributing to the greenhouse effect:
Text
[…] The amount of CO2 in the air is on a constant rise and this impacts the greenhouse effect – and consequently – climate change. CO2 is emitted by industrial plants, agriculture, the energy industry and also transportation. Scientists have found that the latter is accountable for about 14 percent of man-made CO2 emissions.
Author
From ‘Dlaczego Tak Ważne Jest Zmniejszanie Emisji Spalin?’, a 2019 article at interia.pl, trans. MK
So apart from providing very well designed, affordable cars, Izera can also help limit the greenhouse effect. In view of that, it’s fair to say that we should wish them all the best!
Written by Marek Kępa, Aug 2020