It was about time to post some updates on the EIDO Concept. Since leaving the Design Studio of Aston Martin, I finally have some time to look back at my own design projects.

First of all, me and Peter had to put a stop on the exterior design development. We have some thinking to do before we go back and continue with the exterior. All this is due to the strange and unusual layout/specs of the car. The front mounted internal combustion engine working on liquid hydrogen and powering the front wheels plus electric motors aiding the rear wheels combined with the 3 seater layout, make it quite a challenge in terms of “engineering” (please excuse me for using this word so freely). There is no point of playing with the exterior of the car at the moment if the basic internal structure hasn’t been resolved. Since the goal of the project is to develop a highly-detailed design of a vehicle with the above mentioned challenges, I deem it to be a necessity to start developing the internal structure first.

To mention a few things we’ve been thinking on: The internal combustion engine working on liquid hydrogen will be front mounted. However I think the best solution so far is not to use anything larger than V6 cyl engine due to size restrictions. The challenge here though is to squeeze a decent space for a gearbox since the mid-passenger (the driver) is sitting quite forward in the centre of the car and his feet may end-up being inside the gearbox. This is something we have to work on and may cause additional joggle with the layout.
The electric motor powering the rear wheels is at the back of the car – similar construction to the Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell. The single Electric motor placed in the middle of the car, between the rear wheels (in plan view) will power the rear axle thanks to ordinary drive shafts. That’s a much better solution instead the in-wheel-motors that leave no space for proper sports car suspension and wheel design too. The electric motor will be managed by power electronics sitting behind it. The positioning of the batteries is not a huge issue, as this is a short-range conceptual vehicle and big bulky batteries are not considered.
As for the carbon fibre chassis – this will be shaped according to all those functional elements and more. For the moment I am pulling and stretching the carbon fibre chassis in Alias, making sure there is enough of space for all the passengers and mechanical components in the car. It is a lot of work but it’s cool and exciting!!!!

To summarise: what you can see from this post is the initial design of the carbon-fibre chassis. It will give you an idea of the internal structure & assembly of the car. There are also sketches showing first designs on the interior as well..

More updates to follow before Christmas!

any comments anyone?

miro

Feedback Welcome!

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The purpose of the blog here is to upload some random sketches, WIP on projects and News update too.

The latest news is that I left Lotus to join another prestigious British Car Manufacturer with focus on design and performance vehicles. From the beginning of May I started working at Aston Martin where new challenges lay ahead of me. The new design team seems pretty good and I am looking forward to great results in the future…

I would like to express my gratitude to all my friends and colleagues I met at Lotus Cars, it was an amazing time being in the studio and having fun everyday as we’re building sports cars. You won’t find more friendly environment in the design world that’s for sure! And last but not least important – to be part of the Design Team that shaped the new Lotus line-up presented at the Paris Motor Show last year was unforgettable experience. I had such a great time in Lotus! Thank you all!

Below is a picture of the Lotus Design team shortly after the Paris Motors Show 2010.

afternoon sketch for this website: http://cardesignsketch.tumblr.com/