Factory Five design contest thread

Franze- nice sketch! Good to see another LM guy. Your sketch communicates raw power without sacrificing that lightweight feel. I like the "draping" of contrast between hood and fenders. Looking forward to watching this develop!

Here are some screen captures of my work in progress as this is built over the frame. Included are removable rear quarters for widebody upgrades, customizable b-pillar sail panels, light "doorlets" which swing forward and up, and circular lights which could end up as off-the-shelf parts or custom LED units. The windshield has yet to be sourced, measured, and fitted in cad. I'll investigate using WRX carryovers, but not if it compromises too many aesthetics. Dimensions are similar to an Elise @ 152"l, 48"h, 66"w. The snorkel is shown prominently above the rear deck.

Any feedback is appreciated. This still has a ways to go, and I hope to complete three seperate concepts before the deadline. Thanks!

Hey SIxten Great to see you here as well! Your vehicle is looking awesome already (as usual) I am wondering I am hearing a lot about sourcing parts how important is this do you think? I've tried to read all posts but may have missed this. I hope to get two concepts fully developed, can't wait to see more from you!

Hey KA ,

Thanks for your comments, I like your drawings to I am a little confused at what you were saying sorry .

Just wondering about open wheelers and what is possible in this respect, can they be open or must be closed or can they have fenders?

Just some of my own thoughts on this. With the weight target being 1800lbs and the price target I'm thinking an open wheel design is the best way to go.

I'd also be curious what the driver/passenger compartment width would need to be. One of the above posters said 60-70". I have the wheel base drawn up in Solidworks and have started my body design, however if the driver compartment has to be 60" wide that puts the compartment outside the width of the wheels.

Does the compartment really have to be that wide? Seems like it would make the mid section of the car stick out quite a bit wider than the wheels, which is counter to what I've seen in other open wheel/exo-car two seaters.

Can I get any confirmation on what the compartment width needs to be?

In reply to sixten:

Great Job Mark, This is totally your unique style. Love it

You should use some Plymouth Prowler headlights, Just a thought.

sixten wrote:

Great. Now the Safety Dance song is in my head.

The driving position given by the template, doesn"t really allow to draw a truly rear mid-engine design. Not a cab'forward design... And the height must be well above 46'

Oh my God that is so F'ing badass!!

I want to bomb around the track in this so bad.

SETHalpine wrote: The driving position given by the template, doesn"t really allow to draw a truly rear mid-engine design. Not a cab'forward design... And the height must be well above 46'

Yeah it doesn't look right, plus the top of the of the persons helmet should be at least 2" below the rear roll hoop.

0100 wrote:

SETHalpine wrote: The driving position given by the template, doesn"t really allow to draw a truly rear mid-engine design. Not a cab'forward design... And the height must be well above 46'

Yeah it doesn't look right, plus the top of the of the persons helmet should be at least 2" below the rear roll hoop.

Yeah, I find this odd too. I wonder if it's correct or was placed in there haphazardly. Otherwise it makes any design have odd proportions. Most people I know have complained about my high roofline and sloping rear, but I had to make the roof that high to fit a helmet. Anyone from F5 wanna comment on this?

What we need is someone to model up an accurate race seat and some generic human form in a sitting position of that seat. Say a person who is 6ft 2in or something (just to make sure you account for the taller people). Then people can download that and plop it into their models to get a better idea of the constraints on the design.

I may be picky, because I am a designer, but to me little shifts in things can make or break a design, so I think it's pretty important that we have as many details as possible on the required measurements.

I hate to bring up the same thing over and over again, but this contest really SHOULDNT be called a "design" contest, but more of a concept contest. You submit your concept, FF decides which concept is best, and they take the concept, apply it to the actual DESIGN, and tweak to suit. I really dont understand the need for precise measured schematics of every detail. Im not trying to stifle anyones creativity....but if you need that kind of precision to come up with a sketch or 3, maybe you need to step back for a moment and consider the scope of FFs interest, and then put pencil to paper. They only want your ideas, not your detailed blueprint.

You design a car from the outside inwards the error is to believe, that we may do the opposite

a dummy is very useful to place the various elements in the cockpit

I understand that, but again, as a designer the details matter and can make or break a design.

I don't necessarily need the exact dimensions, but it would be nice to at least have some realistic guidelines, such as how wide the driver compartment needs to be, how long? How high? etc.

Same with the engine bay.

That shouldn't be too hard to do and clearly the templates are pretty lacking in this area.

While I agree that the winning entry will likely just be used as the guidelines for a proper engineering model of the body I think it's also valid to ask for a properly proportioned template. If the submitted designs were merely suggestions then why go through the trouble to specify the ride height of 4.5" and wheelbase of 95"? They also included planned locations for the transmission and radiator. The driver does appear to be sitting on a milk crate in the scale drawing :) Either that or they're expecting 7'+ NBA players to drive the car :)

VTX, make those what they NEED to be for your design and just include a callout on one view. If FF likes your concept, they'll adjust the rest to suit.

hello all, here is what I think to start from the guidelines for the front of the model for this contest. I think model in low poly before attacking the NURBS (a sort of blue print 3D) ... there really good concept here! see you soon. and good luck every all

Sort of a GTR meets GT500kr vibe going on, I like it. The radiator looks a little exposed though. ;-)

So, I took some advice and "manned up" my first design - does anyone see an improvement or is this simply the wrong path?

In reply to Typecast_wookie:

I like the shape, I think its worth working. And , yeah I do see an improvement. Work the body-lines and accentuate the coutures a little more and I think it will flow better.

In reply to SETHalpine:

That quote is why engineers hate designers, and make fabricators wanna slap 'em.

I'm not a designer, nor an engineer.

The only serious way to design a car is from the inside out. Engineers tell us what needs to be where, and designers tell us what shape makes it sexy. Every great car was engineered to be so. If a design element isn't first and foremost functional, it's pointless. Engineer a car perfectly - as if it's a living machine with a very specific purpose - and you'll never need a designer.

bromikl wrote: Engineer a car perfectly - as if it's a living machine with a very specific purpose - and you'll never need a designer.

And probably you'll never sell it, cause you'll have a great engineering package and an ugly car.. Both must work together.

This car has a 95" wheelbase, it can fit with the project, but with the height required, it looks less successfull (and probably ugly). Design and engineering are linked together, forget one of these, and it's not worth to make something.

Typecast_wookie wrote: So, I took some advice and "manned up" my first design - does anyone see an improvement or is this simply the wrong path?

We can judge with only a profile view, anyway the cabine volume is too high ( looks weird). Not your fault. , front and rear bumper's face, from an upper view look very straight