The big Audi challenge:part 1

Audi recently opened up a design competition. I've pretty much decided to enter for a) to fill in idle time b) to work on my presentations c) to see how competitive I am in this thing. For the competition the idea is to create the future of the electric car. I personally am not a fan of where electric vehicle design is going with all the focus being on the motor and not the car as a whole.

The technical stuff

For this I will focus not just on the power-train, but everything else around it. But let me get the power-train out of the way first. Initial plans focus on reserving an I shaped section on the floor for the power source. As technology advances in electric vehicle technology, this I shaped section in the floor can be organised to accommodate technology common today such as batteries accompanied with a compact generator. The I section can also be adapted to simply switch in a hydrogen fuel cell or more batteries. I shall describe this I section later in up coming sketches. Batteries will be charged by various methods: a large roof mounted solar panel [might incorporate it into the bonnet as well], the typical regenerative braking, an AC outlet and maybe things such as regenerative suspension travel [but that is advanced thinking]

The other half of the power-train are the motors themselves. I plan on using hub motors, which are more efficient the traditional electric motors but increase unsprung weight, which compromises handling. By using hub motors on each wheel, the speed of each wheel can be monitored and adjusted to ensure maximum grip, similar to Audi's Quattro system, just easier to manage. To reduce unsprung weight, inboard brakes will be used, similar to those found on older DKW [Audi] vehicles of the 50's. The second part of reducing unsprung weight is to use either transverse leaf springs or an inboard suspension. I have not decided on which one to choose as transverse leaf springs are superior to an inboard suspension set up but it leaves little or no room for inboard brakes.

Audi Shooting Brake Concept

The design part

In this section, I've decided to use a shooting brake design similar in silhouette to Audi's own shooting brake concept, but that's where the similarities end. Most of my inspiration will be taken from DKW and Horsch designs as well as cues from the Audi R15 TDi Le Mans racer. If you're wondering what DKW and Horsch are let's do a quick history lesson. Before Audi became Audi it was called Auto Union as it was a union of 4 German car companies: Audi, Wanderer, Horsch and DKW. DKW made some of my favorite Audi designs such as the 3=6, F9, Monza and Junior. I also plan on using cues from my own unique M162 design. For the interior I plan to use heavy cues from the Audi Le Mans concept [aka R8 concept] and utilize inspiration from Horsch's emblem. I'll just post pictures and let them do the explaining.