Autoblog

What supercars would look like if they were designed by engineers [w/video]

Zach Bowman — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Etc., Technology, GM, UK, Design/Style, Racing

Often, engineers are forced to sit and watch as accountants and stylists wreak havoc on a vehicle's design. GrabCAD recently decided to turn the tables by giving engineers the chance to pen a body for a ready-made chassis by 500 Group. The site was flooded with 200 unique designs completed in just 40 days. The top quarter of those went on for final judging in two categories: street and track. 500 Group will then actually produce one or more of the designs through a General Motors Special Projects agreement.

The chassis makes use of a number of GM Performance parts, and is set up to make use of the E-Rod LS3, LS7 or supercharged LS9 V8 engines. One skinless chassis has already been completed for testing.

Each concept body has plenty of renderings as well as full description. Be sure to check out the full press release below, as well as a video of the chassis on track. Then, head over to the GrabCAD site for a deeper dive.

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What supercars would look like if they were designed by engineers [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 26 May 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acura NSX replacement still delayed due to design issues

Dan Roth — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:34:00 EST

Filed under: Supercars, Acura, Honda

Here's the only firm detail about the new Acura NSX: it will have a new ten-hole engine. While the designers have been trading bodyslams and suplexes over what the next Honda supercar will look like, engineers took the opportunity to collaborate about wrist pins, valve geometry, and vee angles. Everyone involved does acknowledge that it has to look right, thus the contention. Time has not yet slipped through Acura's fingers, and the company wants to avoid the stagnation that leaves a 2005 NSX looking little different than a '91. Acura's going to realign their brand, and the NSX is part of that effort, along with the new RL sedan that will be coming in 2010. According to Acura's Executive VP Dick Colliver, as far behind as the NSX is, the RL's further back. Assuaging fears, Colliver quickly adds that there's still time to get it together.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub Req.]

Acura NSX replacement still delayed due to design issues originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Solstice F430: Abomination or Pontiac perfected?

Dan Roth — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:56:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Tuners, Convertible, Etc., Pontiac

click above to view more images of the Solstice F430

There's a pretty healthy argument to be made for leaving the styling of your Pontiac Solstice alone. It did end up in production virtually off the show floor, as evidenced by the cockpit's spaciousness and spectacular materials (hint: saracasm). But there's always at least one person who's not content to leave well enough alone. Luckily, Mr. Paul MadMods seems to have what's known in the biz as mad skillz. What that means is he has a way of working with his hands in a painstaking manner to turn out customized cars that don't scream "HACK JOB!"

Aesthetics, however, are another whole thing, and we're sure that this choice of colors and body mods won't sit well with everyone, but you have to give the guy credit, it's all nicely done. We also have to give props for not creating a full-on Ferrari replica. Paul states that his intent was just to incorporate cool cues from cars that he sees. Thus, his Solstice wears an F430 nose, Porsche Cayman side intakes serving as extractors in the front quarters, tons of custom electronics and a snarling custom turbo installation, too. It's pretty amazing to see how much like a kit car the Solstice actually is. It's not the most comfortable little mini-'Vette, but it's well engineered platform-wise. After seeing how easily the Solstice takes to wrenching, we want one of our own to trick out. When we need an F430 nose, we know who to call.

Thanks for the tip, Aman!

[Source: CarDomain via KitCarsForum]

Gallery: Ferrari nosed Solstice

Solstice F430: Abomination or Pontiac perfected? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Connaught and Caparo conspiring on Type-D

Dan Roth — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Plants/Manufacturing, Technology

Connaught's getting help from a fellow British sports car maker to get the Type-D to market next year. Caparo's vehicle engineering division, which does much the same thing as Lotus - supplying parts and engineering services to customers, will build the steel and composite chassis for the Type D. Caparo will also supply the body panels to Connaught, and production is planned to begin in June 2008. Connaught's original plan was to have a supplier based outside the UK provide chassis and superstructure, but Caparo managed to win the deal instead. We're sure fans of British iron are pleased that the Type D will be a properly English endeavor, and we're anxiously awaiting our chance to sample the uniquely-styled high performance ride. We wonder if Lucas will be tapped as the supplier for electrical components (not that it would matter - it's not the bad old days anymore)?

[Source: Autocar]

Connaught and Caparo conspiring on Type-D originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Become a car designer, just $19.99!

Dan Roth — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:35:00 EST

Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Toys/Games

From time to time we've all been tempted to purchase that fake diploma from the endlessly circulating email, right? The last time I checked, though, they weren't offering fake certificates from the Art Center College of Design, or the Academy of Art University. If you still held onto the dream of someday shaping cars, even after all your sketch pads had been confiscated, the normal path was that you'd go to an institution where you could learn industrial design through a rigorous academic program. That's the reason why those of us who continue to doodle four wheeled conveyances are reduced to sketching while on boring phone calls; to truly design real cars takes years of practice, hard work, and skill. Alternatively, you could drop a measly 20 bucks and start computerating up some fun looking vehicles with Topics Entertainment's Sports Car Designer software.

In the end, it's still no replacement for learning to render a form on paper with perspective, shading and foreshortening; all those things that take years to develop skill with. From what we can see, you're limited to a profile view, but the options for body shape creation are wide ranging enough that you can whip up some interesting forms. We're not seeing a tremendous amount of variety or originality in the screenshots at the support website sportscardesigner.com, but for $20 at Best Buy what do you want, Cinema 4D? When you're done with your masterpiece of the moment, you can export it as a .jpg, or you can spit CAD data out so that another program might be able to stitch the entire car together for you in 3-D space. It's a fun way to divert some hours, and hey, it'll keep that eternally fidgeting car-crazy pre-teen quiet for the vast span of 15 minutes, at least.

Thanks for the tip, Larry!

Become a car designer, just $19.99! originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JE Design intros Audi TT 8J body kit

Dan Roth — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:04:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Audi

JE Design has gone and messed with the Audi TT. The changes are subtle, which is good, because it's hard to improve upon the TT's form. The JE kit will surely draw mixed reviews, though we like that their kit still lets what's good about the car shine. There's new pieces for the chin spoiler in front, adding strange little vents at the leading edge of the wheel opening. We can't imagine that they actually serve any purpose - perhaps they vent heat from the foglamps? We're sure that's a common problem. The requisite overly-large, overly-low-profile tires are there, but the benefit of the bigger rolling stock is left unrealized. We see puny (puny's such a relative term) brakes hiding out behind the wheels. The only functional point behind ultra-low profile rubber and rims beyond 17" is to fit as much brake rotor diameter as possible under there, and what we're seeing is plenty of extra clearance around everything. And apparently twin exhaust outlets do not a fast car make; they've been superceded by quad tips. The smooth rear decklid has had a lip spoiler applied to add some downforce. What the spoiler really does is add a pimple to the ass of an otherwise smooth form. The stock pop-up spoiler gets in the game to add downforce, and when it's retracted, you're not going fast enough to need any extra drag. It'll look real racy in traffic at an average speed of 15mph, though.

[Source: JE Design]

Gallery: JE Design Audi TT 8J

JE Design intros Audi TT 8J body kit originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volvo, Ford to help out with Aston's Rapide

Dan Roth — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:25:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Aston Martin, Volvo

This is cooler than the Marcos. Aston Martin is calling on Volvo's formidable safety expertise to help develop the forthcoming Rapide. Volvo's safety systems will be integrated into the new four-door Aston, which means we should look to see an active stability control system and possibly some of Volvo's newer tricks like blind-spot monitoring, collision avoidance and at-the-ready brakes. Volvo's skill at developing a strong safety cage into a rigid unit-body will also play a part in developing the Rapide.

We're dreaming, but it would be fun to see that development work lead to a new 1800. Not bloody likely, but once the work on the Aston is done, there'll be all that pent up fast-car energy in Goteborg. Regardless of what Volvo ends up doing, the Rapide is set to drop in late 2008, at which point we're looking forward to a Panamera/Quattroporte/Rapide three-way smackdown.

[Source: Auto Motor & Sport via Motor Authority]

Volvo, Ford to help out with Aston's Rapide originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 08:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Prius body styles on the way

Noah Joseph — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 13:23:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Sedan, Green, Crossover, Hatchback, Lexus, Toyota

Toyota is planning on expanding the Prius range with several new body styles based on the trendy hybrid sedan. Currently, the company is considering adding a wagon and a Smart-style city-car, with the possibility of a crossover hybrid utility vehicle in the future.

The additional models will form the bulk of Toyota's campaign of selling one million hybrids worldwide. To that end, Toyota hopes to triple the number of hybrids it sells in the U.S., with the American market accounting for an anticipated half of that million-car target.

We could expect the wagon to look essentially the same as the current sedan, only with a roof extending rearward over the expanded cargo area, while the city-car will likely be an all-but-completely new model, riding on a much shorter wheelbase but with styling that immediately associates it with the rest of the Prius range.

The announcement opens anew the debate over whether customers want regular cars with hybrid engines, or instantly-identifiable, special-built hybrid models. Toyota's luxury division Lexus has reportedly expressed interest in developing a full hybrid range of its own, but until now its hybrid models have been variations on its standard lineup. The Toyota division itself has focused its hybrid production largely on the Prius, which it now hopes to expand. Meanwhile, competitor Honda found the hybrid version of the Civic to be far more popular than the quirky Insight.

We'd tend to agree with Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's synopsis: Why buy an overpriced, ugly, poorly-made Prius when most conventional diesels will return better economy and give you more for your money? But with Toyota's ever-quickening race to the top, clearly it's on to something.

[Source: Bloomberg via Motor Authority]

More Prius body styles on the way originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Nov 2006 13:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Woman finds that dead body is the source of her steering problems

Eric Bryant — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

A young woman from Ecourse, MI was driving through Detroit at about 1AM on Friday morning when she noticed that something was wrong with the way her car was handling. The teenaged driver pulled over into a nearby service station, thinking that she had a flat tire, when it was discovered that the problem was indeed much worse - a dead body was wedged into the vehicle's front suspension.

Apparently, the deceased was the victim of a prior hit-and-run, and had been left lying in the road when the second driver came along and snagged the corpse with the undercarriage of her vehicle. It's estimated that she drove about two miles with the body dangling underneath before realizing that something was wrong. She will not be charged for any wrongdoing, and the perpetrator of the hit-and-run is being sought by police.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Woman finds that dead body is the source of her steering problems originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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