UNIVERSITY PROJECT SUMMER SEMESTER 2006 - TRANSPORTATION DESIGN  
 
 


The task
The fifth semester Transportation Design course at Pforzheim University is about exterior design. During this time, students are busy with creating concepts, sketches and finally a quarter scale model out of modelling clay. It is basically the same process like the earliest steps towards a new car in the car industry. The public presentation at the end of the semester is the event where automotive designers come to Pforzheim and look out for fresh talents, so it is very important for the design students to show their skills.
The kick-off for this project was in mid march, 2006. This time, Honda Design Studio in Offenbach, Germany, supported the students with professional experience and set the theme for their concepts: Designing an off-track car for one of the Honda Formula One drivers, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The only condition was: the car should be based on Honda's fuel cell technology, previewed in the 2006 Honda FCX Concept Car.

  
 
 

The concept
I chose to design a car for Jenson Button. After a lot of research, I created a concept of a vehicle, specially taylored for the younger pilot in the Honda team. He might want to enjoy his leisure time in a big sporty car, in which he can drive along the côte d'azur coastal roads around Monaco with friends, or have a city trip to the casino.
Most important, the car should be a strong and beautiful sculpture with a simple yet sexy body, but on the other hand should still be realistic to be produced as a real road car. The car should be outstanding in its proportions, with a long bonnet and cab-rearward styled cabin. The lounge sofa in the back and a lifting roof are inspired by classic yacht boats.

  
 

The process
After the first ideation phase with several different ideas, I selected the coupé concept as the one to develop. The design evolved in several weeks of sketching phase, and was supported by quarter scale tape drawings from side, top, front and back views. The stage of work was then presented in an mid-term review and given green light by the professor to go into the modelling phase.
In the next step, I started clay modelling. It took me nearly one week to prepare the foam core and attach enough clay on it to start with the actual modelling; you really need more clay than you'd expect! The first thing I worked on was proportions. the length of the bonnet as well as the wheelbase from the tape sideview needed refinement, and soon the model came closer and closer to my dream.


  
 

At that time, the World Soccer Championship took place in Germany, and although everyone else was watching the games on public viewings or driving around in fan corsos, the students of the Transportation Design department were still working hard all day in the modelling workshop, having just a small tv running and being nourrished by fast food and instant coffee...
After the clay model was finally finished, I made a negative mould of gypsum and glass fibre, in which the actual model was laminated with glass-fiber reinforced plastic. Then I had to sand and refine it for painting. The model was painted with a very unique flat metallic paint. The presentation was a huge success for most of us who had been working so hard on this project for months.
In conclusion, I am satisfied with the result. Although you always see a lot of mistakes or things necessary to refine afterwards, I think it was worth the effort, and I learned a lot during the design process of this project. It definately was a good experience for me.