Concept noodling...............

[ajwheels]

Every so often an idea strikes me, and I kind of let it run................there are those styling details in motorcars..........many are timeless and reapeated over the years, or reinterpreted as new...............but I have always been drawn in my the the flowing lines, long hoods and short rear decks, scoops, vents, flairs..........low slung, fat tires..............the French and English influence obviously, but with that hot rod take.................

Got my buddy Manny in the drivers seat.........lets see where I can take this................could be fun.............

Tony

[3.Star]

Hi ajwheels,

that's looking like a modern type of Figoni&Falaschi to me. Real artwork to make velocity visible.


Cheers

Michael

[Daytonatim]

".....long and lean and every young man's dream......

nice work Tony!!

[ajwheels]

Your right, Micheal...........those early big Bugatti sedans as well.........there has always been something about those flowing shapes...............on a smaller scale, the XK120, XK140 Jaguars, and even the later big Austin Healeys............and the more I stare at it, I am reminded of those front-engined Panoz race cars from a few years back.............

So I have opened up the shell, put some current low-profile rubber under it.....proportions seem right to me...........window openings in keeping with the over-all flow of things...........always liked a split rear window.....was going to do a small, little pair, but then thought bigger is better as there will not be much visibility to the rear quarters here............and so now, there is a bit of the '63 Corvette in here as well.....................

Tony

[Martsmodels]

Looks fantastic AJ - you are incredibly close to the Chrysler Atlantic with that.



Coincidence or intention??

Martin

[ScaleMotorcars]

I wasnt thinking the Chrysler Atlantic but more along the lines of the Bugatti Atlantic.

Or Boyds Delahaye inspired rod.

[ajwheels]

Thanks for the comment, Martin............no intention, pure coincedence........but those influences do stay with us..........it's clear that when that Chrysler was done those early French cars were on their minds...............I'll just see if I can bring in those little cues that have always attracted me over time, and in the end have something relatively unique, but true to the spirit of the originals...............but mostly, something that I would want to take for a drive...................

Tony

[ScaleMotorcars]

Speaking of the Atlantic styling.

Bugatti styled the Veyron after the T35 and the new Galibier after the T57 Atlantic. Check out those curves for 2010.

[ajwheels]

Ahh............"Le Pur Sang".......indeed............

Tony

[sydeem]

Now if somebody wants to work up that body as a kit -----

[Martsmodels]

....just a little snippet on the Chrysler explaining the Bugatti influence fyi

"[I]Legend has it that, in 1994, one-time Chrysler design chief Tom Gale and then Chrysler president Bob Lutz served together as judges for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The classic cars to be judged were located on the 18th fairway, but arranged on the lawn around the club house were a number of concept cars, old and new, not included in the judging. They decided that next year, Chrysler was going to have a concept car that would put all the other concepts “back on their trailers.”

The legend says that Lutz sketched his ideas on a napkin which he gave to Gale. Gale gave his design staff the assignment but without the sketches, explaining that he didn’t want to give his designers any preconceptions which would stifle their creativity. They were told to use ideas and features of the curvaceous French coupes of the thirties (Bugatti, Talbot-Lago, Delahaye and Delage) to come up with a knock-out retro design that would mix the best of the old with the newest of the new. The result, designed by Bob Hubbach, is the 1995 Chrysler Atlantic.[/I]"

Pity they stopped production at 100!

Keep us posted on progress Tony - I have a feeling that there is going to be a lot of interest in this................

Martin

[hot ford coupe]

I want one of those!! I must have one of those Atlantics!! That would be one cool 1/8 build.

[strevo]

Now if somebody wants to work up that body as a kit -----

I have been playing around with the idea of modeling up a Veyron body. It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult, however, my Desktop PC has died, and I can't run Alias Studio Tools on my laptop. I think the body might be too curvaceous to do it justice with Pro/E, so I'm stuck waiting until I can afford to get a new computer.
-Steve

[ajwheels]

As the body evolves, so does a possible drive-train.................I have always been intrigued by the idea of putting the gearbox in the rear, and using a torque-tube to connect the ends.........current Corvette practice, as well as a few other manufacturers in recent history..........how better to distribute the weight when the engine is mounted up front?...................I'm kind of winging it here, so bear with me...............

Tony

[ajwheels]

So I've added a few openings in the shell............cold air in, hot air out.......and head and tail light features..........a place for my licence plate........door and hood cut-lines......along with the pin-drive, center-lock wheels.............

Tony