If you saw the Hollywood film Tron Legacy, chances are you’ll remember the achingly gorgeous light-bike design of the lead character’s speedy white glossy cockpit adorned motorcycle. It was a thing of beauty and something moviegoers could easily imagine to be real – or should be real. The bike’s creator was Daniel Simon, who’s career has seen him head design for Bugatti, design Le Mans racing cars, drones and even the odd spaceship too. It’s a fascinating background to this; his latest creation.
Since Roborace was first conceived in November 2015, Daniel has been working with engineers and aerodynamicists to produce a concept Roborace car for the driverless race series that will run off the back of Formula E races as soon as the 2016/17 season. The car is said to reach speeds of 186mph and Roborace is keen to prove that it’s capabilities on track will be second to none, tweeting to certain individuals challenges like, “Choose any car you want #Stig and we race ;-)”.
Aerodynamics has largely led Simon’s design with the floorpan acting as a giant wing, while other “active” aerodynamics will come into play too. This is likely to be similar to active aerodynamics on Formula One cars that flex at high speed to provide favourable aerodynamic enhancement.
Daniel Simon, chief design officer at Robocar, said,
“We’re living in a time where the once separated worlds of the automobile and artificial intelligence collide with unstoppable force. It’s fantastic to be part of this journey; it triggers all my big passions – motor racing, design and advanced technologies. My goal was to create a vehicle that takes full advantage of the unusual opportunities of having no driver without ever compromising on beauty. Racing engineers and aerodynamicists have worked with me from the beginning to strike that balance. The Roborace is as much about competition as it is entertainment. Therefore – and quite unusual in today’s racing world – beauty was very high on our agenda and we work hard to merge the best performance with stunning styling. It was important to us that we generate substantial downforce without unnecessary parts cluttering the car to maintain a clean and iconic look. This is largely made possible by using the floor as the main aerodynamic device and we are currently developing active body parts that are more organic and seamless than solutions today. I am excited to be part of the daring team of people who are making this happen.”
Denis Sverdlov, CEO of Roborace, said,
“We are honoured to have Daniel working with us on this project as chief design officer. His passion and experience are undeniable and I believe it’s already set to be one of the most iconic vehicles in automotive history. We nicknamed the competition the ‘global championship of intelligence’ as an open challenge to the world’s smartest minds, so its only fitting that the car should be one of the smartest ever to be made, thanks to Daniel it may also be the most beautiful car ever to touch a road surface. It’s gaming, motorsport, technology and entertainment all rolled into one. I passionately believe that the future of cars is about software; driverless, electric and connected and Roborace will help to make that a reality.”
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said,
“Today is an historic day for motorsport, and the car industry in general. This first image of the Robocar, designed by Daniel Simon, represents a vision of what cars will be, a vision of our future. In Formula E we are proud to promote, together with pioneers like Denis Sverdlov and Daniel Simon, a revolution in the world of motorsport, a project that will change the future of mobility.”
For more information on Roborace visit – http://www.roborace.com/
Source; Roborace/Formula E
