brillon wrote:
I have a created this quick sketch of a submission.
This sketch takes inspiration from the Bugeyed Sprite.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60250753@N03/5498443222/
The Frogeye is definitely ripe for reinvention - ever seen the Nissan Micra? The outgoing model's headlights are perfect for the job:
DonkerV
New Reader
3/6/11 5:44 p.m.
The blue one is right on!!! It has doors, could have roll-up windows, a porsche carrera type roof, all the stuff that make a car a car !!! Very nice!
Cr8tr
New Reader
3/6/11 11:39 p.m.
Dave/Tom,
What are the maximum O.D. and width tires? in millimeter please. Thank you!
That blue Halcyon looks nice, just like the Porsche 918 concept... if you are planning to do something like that I suggest you to change the porsche´s photo where you based it more, specially the front, the rear is good.
When I started reading this thread I was going to suggest a design "inspired" by the 918 concept. That is one sexy car that could work well as a roadster with a removable hard top.
Something like an Alpha 8C or 4C with the cabin pushed forward a bit could look nice as well.
I really like the blue one!
Two things (three if you count the first):
-I can't design worth a crap, so this is coming from the cheap seats
- The designs look great, though the reliance on ludicrous wheel size to fill the arch is unrealistic. WRX's came out of the factory with 16's and 205/55 tires, with 17's optional, has anyone thought of creating a design with these dimensions in mind? I know most who build the car will change out the wheels, but 20's on an 1800lb aren't necessary, nor are they in keeping with the goal of a $15k car.
- I think it would be neat if the car was a multi-purpose vehicle:
-In keeping with it's WRX rally heritage, design a body that could accommodate the wheels/tires required for stage rally or at least rallycross
-In keeping with the WRX's sportscar niche, make it a capable autocrosser and track-day vehicle as well.
The point being- wouldn't it be neat to keep the traits that make the WRX so great, the "all-rounder-ness" of it, remove 1300lb, and have a look great too? I like the idea of the Lancia Stratos, but mainly because it accomplishes the mechanical feats of being good at rally and road work.
That is all. Great work so far- that blue 918 look-alike is striking- I imagine that jacked up a few inches might make a sweet rally/rallycrosser!
We will be adding some FAQ's to the contest post and lifting the curtain on the judges soon... also showing some early submissions. One of the surprising things about this site (GRM) has been the technical ideas that could influence the car (not just the body shape). Thanks again for all the ideas.
BTW: When I first saw the Porsche concept I was BLOWN away... That car is cool because it has the engine architecture and the layout of ours with some small differences. Still cool shape.
Dave Smith
President
Scott_H
New Reader
3/7/11 10:13 a.m.
I like the idea of having the option of two choices, with the body and without. More of a Atom inspired exo-skeleton with minimal body panels on an open car. It could be built with the body or not. If at a later date you wanted the body, it could be added at that time.
I could be your first customer.
Scott
armstrom wrote:
When I started reading this thread I was going to suggest a design "inspired" by the 918 concept. That is one sexy car that could work well as a roadster with a removable hard top.
Agreed! It would be hard to resist something that looked like this:
tuna55 wrote:
Question for the judge(s). Is design X on equal footing if a) drawn with pencil, b) drawn Chip Foose style and c) some super duper 3D rendering?
Yes. The best design (as determined by a panel of judges) will win. Whatever medium you choose for your creative works will be fine as long as its submitted in accordance with the rules.
That said, making it clear and easy for the judges to see is likely to help.
I do like the idea of a car that can handle stage rally/rallyX while still being competent on the tarmac, and it does sort of work with my design.
Question for Dave/Tom: say I have a design in Autodesk Inventor, or Sketchup, or some other 3D graphics/CAD program. If I can get my design into a more or less universal file format (say, .skp or .3ds or whatever the universal 3D CAD format is), could I submit that in addition to the design on the templates? that may make it easier for the judges to make some sense of some aspects of my idea that way
Cr8tr wrote:
Dave/Tom,
What are the maximum O.D. and width tires? in millimeter please. Thank you!
1 billion.
Sorry if that seems flippant, but if your car needs giant tires to look good, that's part of the design. Instead of requiring specific design parameters, we're looking for creative designs.
Try something crazy if that's what you're inspired by!
LJD
New Reader
3/7/11 10:56 a.m.
dyintorace wrote:
armstrom wrote:
When I started reading this thread I was going to suggest a design "inspired" by the 918 concept. That is one sexy car that could work well as a roadster with a removable hard top.
Agreed! It would be hard to resist something that looked like this:
For the love of God ... please make this a 918 RSR replica!!! It's easily the sexiest design in decades.
I for one am not interested in a multi baziilion dollar racecar wannabe. If I were a FF customer (and I may be someday soon if I get my way with SWMBO), Id want a clean, minimalist, lotus 7/locost inspired bare bones racecar humiliator. That 918 is quite attractive, but I have no desire to own one , if for no other reason than you would have every police office in town salivating for the day they find you 6 mph over.
4cylndrfury wrote:
I for one am not interested in a multi baziilion dollar racecar wannabe. If I were a FF customer (and I may be someday soon if I get my way with SWMBO), Id want a clean, minimalist, lotus 7/locost inspired bare bones racecar humiliator. That 918 is quite attractive, but I have no desire to own one , if for no other reason than you would have every police office in town salivating for the day they find you 6 mph over.
Interesting thought. Have another idea? I would think that a Lotus 7 replica still screams the same thing to me as the 918. On the other hand, that silver modern corvair posted a ways up looks more like a 'real car' and less like a 'race car', is that what you're going for?
Justen
New Reader
3/7/11 1:30 p.m.
I really like the blue car by starvros, but that silver one doesnt do anything for me.
While I can see the point of view of wanting something a bit more.. "modest" than the 918 I personally would like to see something a bit more flashy than a lotus 7 replica. I'm actually toying with the idea of a MK Midi kit (bike engined mid-engine kit in a 7-esque style) but it feels a bit TOO "kit car ish" for my tastes. Not a serious head-turner.. Part of what attracted me to the FF GTR was that it had a full body and gave that supercar feel but at a more moderate price. Now, it turns out that the "donor" parts for the GTR still put it a bit out of reach for most builders of modest means like myself... So the prospect of a sporty looking full-bodied car based on an affordable donor car with a kit price HALF that of the GTR is very attractive indeed. But I would still like to see something with a bit of form as well as function. To me the Lotus 7 style cars are all function. If you want to go fast around a track it's tough to find a better value, but if you want to look good cruising down the street or enjoy a weekend blast through the mountains and not have to pull over it there's a touch of rain, then something with a bit of style and some nice curves would do the job well :)
Just my $0.02 though. I'm not a judge and they are the only ones who will truly determine what this car ends up looking like.
Here's a couple of shots of the alfa romeo 4c GTC concept that was recently unveiled. This is pretty sexy for a mid-engined coupe. Might look good as a roadster as well but the engine cover would have to be converted from a "hatch" style to something flatter... But it's a nice design to start with :) Keep in mind that this concept car has a 94.5" wheel base (only 0.5" shorter than the FF car!) and is only 157.4" long overall... so it has the right proportions.
armstrom wrote:
While I can see the point of view of wanting something a bit more.. "modest" than the 918 I personally would like to see something a bit more flashy than a lotus 7 replica. I'm actually toying with the idea of a MK Midi kit (bike engined mid-engine kit in a 7-esque style) but it feels a bit TOO "kit car ish" for my tastes. Not a serious head-turner.. Part of what attracted me to the FF GTR was that it had a full body and gave that supercar feel but at a more moderate price. Now, it turns out that the "donor" parts for the GTR still put it a bit out of reach for most builders of modest means like myself... So the prospect of a sporty looking full-bodied car based on an affordable donor car with a kit price HALF that of the GTR is very attractive indeed. But I would still like to see something with a bit of form as well as function. To me the Lotus 7 style cars are all function. If you want to go fast around a track it's tough to find a better value, but if you want to look good cruising down the street or enjoy a weekend blast through the mountains and not have to pull over it there's a touch of rain, then something with a bit of style and some nice curves would do the job well :)
Just my $0.02 though. I'm not a judge and they are the only ones who will truly determine what this car ends up looking like.
Agreed 100%. I really hope this car does not end up like a Lotus 7. There are plenty of Lotus 7-ish kits out there. No need for another one. A full body car, perhaps with a removable targa-like top seems to make the most sense.
there is a difference between a lotus and a lotus inspired roadster
4cylndrfury wrote:
there is a difference between a lotus and a lotus inspired roadster
Point taken, but I must say that nearly all of the lotus 7 inspired designs I've seen look more like dedicated track cars that see occasional road use rather than street cars that perform well at the track. Perhaps the closest thing I would consider as being lotus inspired but not too "lotus-ish" is the Donkervoort.. but it is clearly designed to have front mounted engine FAR behind the front axle and you're basically riding the rear axle in the driver's seat (pretty much the same for all 7 designs)
I think it would be interesting to see a good mid-engined interpretation of a 7-style car, but I've yet to see one that I'm truly impressed with as a sports car.
-Matt
armstrom wrote:
I think it would be interesting to see a good mid-engined interpretation of a 7-style car, but I've yet to see one that I'm truly impressed with as a sports car.
-Matt
This is pretty much as close as you're going to get:
http://www.midlana.com/
Cr8tr
New Reader
3/7/11 3:08 p.m.
In reply to Tom Heath:
O.D. tires are very important to design. It will provide me an idea how my fenders clearance would be and how much creative design elements I can play in those areas. I'm not into crazy designs...I am more into creative sexy appealed designs. I am assuming O.D. tires are standard in the tires industries and the wheels come in different sizes to enhance the look of the car. When the time come for me to build my design in 3D modeling, it's a good idea to have some rough numbers as a place holder. This way...from 2D sketches to 3D modeling won't be water down to much. Thank you for your response.