Concept Climax turned in by Coventry design students
Three design students from Coventry University will be making the grade thanks to the Concept Climax project they've been developing for 18 months. Despite having not graduated yet, the trio has developed a two-seat mid-engine concept that they hope will reinvent the British sports car.
The Concept Climax, which gets its name from the Cooper Climax F1 car of the 1950s, is a purist's roadster with no doors and a flip up windscreen. The highly original shape evokes stripped out racers of the past with a 21st century update.
A flat four-cylinder engine capable of running on ethanol and producing 270 bhp powers the car. The concept also draws heavily on F1 technology by allowing the driver to tinker with the fuel intake via a laptop and adjust the ECU using what's called "Climax Control" and a USB key.
While the current concept is not a runner, a working prototype will be ready by the summer of '07, and the team of design students hopes to eventually produce about 50 units annually at the price of £35,000 (USD $65,000).
(Check out more pics after the jump)
[Source: Concept Climax via PistonHeads]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Robert Sanderson 9:05AM (7/22/2006)
They have successfully created the iCar. I want wan with the 40MB verison. What, do you get your lisence from the Apple iTunes store? What about that horizontal iPod w/ wheels even suggests the proud heritage of British racing and crappy Lucas electronics?
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Seif 9:36AM (7/22/2006)
WOW! I love that design. It evokes some beautiful designs of the past so well yet it is absoltely modern. If only there were more designs like this rather than the current deluge of "retro" design (even though some of that is kinda nice). If i had the money to throw around, i'd consider it. It's not practical at all, but i'm strangely drawn...
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James Sonne 10:08AM (7/22/2006)
Reminds me of a catfish. But probably faster.
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MikeInNC 11:15AM (7/22/2006)
C'mon give these guys a break. It's nice to see a car that doesn't substantially remind me of another car already in production. Even if the design does remind you a bit of Apple's industrial design I'm willing to bet it sure looks a lot better than the car you and I have designed.
I think it's pretty slick looking plus, it's still in concept. I'm sure a final product would be a bit less Applie like.
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Tom Design 12:33PM (7/22/2006)
It's a little porky looking, and the exaggerated front fender lines are too distracting to call it good design, as unique and fresh as it looks. They slant-eyed headlights in the inside of that over arched fender top just looks art deco and clumsy in a modern sports car. I've seen that solution before, but lower and more taught muscular, with the lights on the outside of the fenders where they are most effective. What sports enthusiast wants headlights that don't light up the road adequately at speed and fender flares that can't be seen over?
More failure are the hinged rectangular mirrors just stuck on the over arched fender. What were they thinking? They design an impractical headlight housing to accent the fenders, then they glob on these after thought mirror fixtures?
The rear of the car is a success, and very sweet! the side profile is gorgeous. too bad about the front, headlights and mirrors. hopefully they'll redesign that when they consider a windscreen and wipers and the necessities of production. i'd prefer standard body colored mirrors than the box cutout ones shown here.
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AutoFan 1:51PM (7/22/2006)
The rear end's profile is very similar to the Saturn Sky, at least from where I'm sitting. The lights are obviously different, but the lines are similar.
It's OK, just a little boring.
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Tim C 2:48PM (7/22/2006)
Coventry University turns out some of the world's finest car designers. All power to them.
While we're spotting influences I'll throw in the D-type Jags and a Lotus 11 if you don't mind.
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Howard Kerr 3:07PM (7/22/2006)
A flat four cylinder engine that produces 270 horsepower on ethanol...why not just use a Subaru engine tuned to run on E-85?
The styling is somewhat...different? I have never really cared for cars with matching headlights and tailights. The fender-mounted, "collapsing", rear view mirrors are interesting....but on a retro car, why have them? and with the headlights so slim/dainty-looking, why are those lights(?) on each side of the air intake made to look like they waste a lot of space by having oversized bezels?
Oh yeah, for a mid-engined car, where are the fresh air intakes and exhaust air outlets for the engine?
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chris ercole 9:05PM (7/22/2006)
What every student needs, Climax Control.
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allin 10:14PM (7/22/2006)
I don't believe a car with no doors is going to past muster with safety regs, or with enough people who have the money for auto toys.
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WillDaThrill 3:36AM (7/23/2006)
I was about to say, "how can you see out of this thing?" But after the pics, I see that you'll be eating bugs during your drive. Unless there's a cover for it that I missed in the reading.......
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julian 5:22AM (7/23/2006)
it's all very well complaining about car designs. but tom design and autofan, give these guys a break! after all, they're still at school, and as #7 says, coventry produces some of the best auto designers.
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Conor 5:29PM (7/23/2006)
its looks like a pancake, with some mini cooper, dunno why, but it does.....
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Tom Design 11:25PM (7/23/2006)
julian => okay, you're right. I'm always forgiving of students remembering they're in school to learn. They make mistakes and don't have polished finished products because they shouldn't be worrying about everything.
Wait a minute. This is an international weblog with professional presentations by auto manufacturers, editors, car reviewers, joe car, jane car, and a lot of bored men with no social skills off the internet. If it were a school presentation I should be professorial. But this is the big time on Autoblog, right? Why should we cut them any slack?
Just kidding. It's a great effort by a group of school kids. Nice job!
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jeffinToronto 9:23AM (7/24/2006)
reminds me of the Porsche Spider...only 60 years later. I just hope it doesn't get too watered down when they try to make a running version of it and my money is on that it will never make a limited run production. But hey, it's a design exercise and the comments suggest that it has done its job by evoking comments and emotion.
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