Do you know how some of these virtual artists spam their Instagram or Behance accounts with various car renderings every day? Well, regardless of whether they're good or bad, one thing is certain: they don't make them like Rene Garcia.
We won't name any names, but we wouldn't be surprised if certain manufacturers actually sent models into production with less research than the one that goes behind Rene's projects, and that's not necessarily a dig at those carmakers (even though it kind of is) as much as exaggerated praise for Rene's painstaking attention to detail and overall dedication.
The work on his account spans nearly two decades, and yet here are just five projects in total. We're not saying it took him nearly four years on average to work on each of them—his rich resume shows he's had his hands full with a lot of other stuff all this time—but it goes to show he won't post something there just for the sake of expanding his portfolio. The old adage saying, "it's about quality, not quantity" applies perfectly well here.
His latest automotive-related work centers around an EV conversion for the beloved Honda Ridgeline mid-size pickup truck. However, unlike the many renderings you see on the internet, this one doesn't focus solely on the exterior design but takes a much more wholesome approach that shows an attention to detail that's borderline worthy of clinical investigation.
Photo: Rene Garcia via Behance
We're obviously joking, and the only reason Rene's work stands out so much is that we've been flooded by the "dime-a-dozen" gang lately, to the point where that approach has become the norm and this one is the exception—which is somewhat fitting because this Honda Ridgeline EV Concept is absolutely exceptional.
Like other designers, Rene shows us a few various ways in which the vehicle's design could have gone, except these aren't hand sketches but full (admittedly low polygon count) 3D models. We can see some of them veered toward the trophy truck zone, whereas others remind us of the Lamborghini LM001, but the most important thing they show is that in the end, Rena undoubtedly took the right decision and expanded on the best one of them.
By the looks of it, every last part of the Honda Ridgeline EV Concept has been accounted for and created in AutoCAD. That means the concept is ready to be packed nicely with a ribbon on top and sent over to Honda to make a life-size, preferably working concept vehicle out of it.
Photo: Rene Garcia via Behance
Allowing ourselves to drift for a moment and imagine that did happen, assuming Honda could come up with a decent battery/powertrain setup to make the Ridgeline EV's specs competitive, it's hard to believe anything could stand in its way commercially speaking. In terms of tone, it's basically what you get if you fuse the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 together: something that has an overall classic and familiar shape but with plenty of futuristic design cues to make it interesting for those looking for something a little more special too (but not quite Cyber Truck-special).
The interior follows that same recipe while also remaining strangely true to the Honda e's. The only two things we're not fully on board with are the yoke steering wheel and the fact the displays seem to be a little too far away to be reached comfortably.
Its centerpiece, however, has to be the pillarless suicide door setup that not only looks cool but could also finally become a reality thanks to the extra rigidity of the battery-holding floor. Some people might find the bed to be on the small side, but thanks to a bit of modularity, even that can be taken care of when needed with the rear seats folding and the divider somehow disappearing as well. We'd invoke magic, but given how detailed and planted into reality Rene's designing process is, we're sure he has a perfectly viable solution for it.
Hopefully, we won't have to wait four more years for Rene's next project because we really need more quality work like this in our lives, just like we now need the Honda Ridgeline EV Concept, maybe minus the "Concept" part.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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