Biologically-inspired teardrop electric car design
So, is this the most aerodynamic car you've seen all day? For one student, Elle Kalm, it's the cleanest air-slicing vehicle that's feasibly possible, at least according to Kalm's recently-published paper.
The paper, which was published in August, is a Master's thesis on the design of an aerodynamic green car. The product of two schools, Luleå University in Sweden and Tsui Design and Research in Emeryville, California, the thesis' goal was to design an incredibly aerodynamic vehicle that would be powered by batteries, with "all concerns on consumer demand and to follow Eugene Tsui's design." Tsui is an architect who not only draws inspiration from nature, but attempts to incorporate natural methods into his design, something he calls "Evolutionary Architecture."
As you can see in the rendering, the teardrop-shaped vehicle doesn't have mirrors (it would use cameras instead) and Kalm opted for three wheels over four. While the thesis is not nearly as detailed as one might like in describing how decisions were made, we can read how the students (in some instances, Kalm worked with others) considered pretty much every aspect of the car's design: doors, headlights, body materials, and more. In short, it's an example of how the next generation of designers is getting ready to design a sixth-generation Prius for us.
You can download the 120-page PDF here, and check out another set of images after the jump.
[Source: Luleå University h/t to Alfred]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andrew Tanasescu 12:38PM (10/08/2007)
Aptera anyone?
as for the mirrors, i love the idea of the cameras for mirrors, but wouldent it be just as simple to put mirrors behind the wheel covers like on a caparo t1? I thought since its an electric car you would want to use as little energy as possible. Powering a few screens isnt the most efficient way I bet...
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Turbofrog 12:57PM (10/08/2007)
Considering how much they seem to have sweated the details, the lack of fenders on those open wheels seems like a tremendous oversight. The rotating stock makes up a big percentage of your drag - not to mention the safety and visibility issues involved.
It's a pretty half-baked design.
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Phil L. 2:28PM (10/08/2007)
I wonder if their detail consideration included the regulatory side of the world: I doubt open wheels are legal for new production cars in most markets of the world today. Another example: I've read that some US states require a motorcycle have a single, center-mounted headlight. Some of the current three-wheel EV designs, which depend on being registered as motorcycles, have two headlights - and must be retrofitted to be legal in that jurisdiction.
As noted above, this looks like an academic rationalization of the Aptera design.
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Scott 8:50PM (10/08/2007)
120 pages to explain that? Come on. could you pick a worse image to show of your design>? (answer: no). a teardrop shape is a given for aerodynamics, but it doesn't mean it has to look like crap.
ugh, whatever.
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Tom 6:30AM (10/10/2007)
I wouldn't want to drive around on a sunny day in one of those things.
It'd be a greenhouse underneath a magnifying glass in there.
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Joe Levi 1:53PM (10/10/2007)
The stereotypical "tear drop" isn't as aerodynamic as you'd think. Not even raindrops are shaped like a "tear drop."
- www.JoeLevi.com
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eo 3:43PM (10/10/2007)
Why are we not supporting the manufactures that produce practical electric cars? The "all electric" car is capable of going 300 miles on a charge at a cost of .04c mile. One model from Hybrid Technologies, Inc. is going to sell at Sam's club for $35,000!
http://www.hybridtechnologies.com
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nihao 12:34PM (10/12/2007)
I don't know what to say about the lack of fenders, but I like the look/design of it and would like to see it built. I'm assuming most of the hyperbolic criticism ("it's ugly lol noob 3d rendering!!") is from digg, as they are notorious for posting gut-reaction commentary on eco-car articles.
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dm 6:08PM (10/13/2007)
Interesting the level of knowledge being posted here. makes you wonder what is actually in those 120 pages. i totally agree about the images used. those are ok 'wireframe' type pics but it would have been nice to see something more realistically rendered as well.
it is also clear that this is totally impractical as mentioned above with the comments on safety, fenders, etc.
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