Hey all,
Moon(Pettit Racing) Cam(Engine supplier, Pettit Racing)and I have collaborating on a project thats been in the works for the last couple months now. We diecided we wanted to include the RX7 Community in the project in regards to feedback and interest. I'll let Moon discuss the techinical aspects of the project including short and long term goals, and estimated specifications. Heres where it all started,,,, http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=146701 Moon will speak to this more...

We encourage any and all criticism and encouragement and would like to keep a continuous discussion going on the progress of the project and any sugestions in expertise that you may bring to the table, as we reach to bring this product to the general public. I am starting the post to display the concept sketches that I've been working on in the last couple weeks, these are initial concepts based on discussions between Moon and I on the visual persona we want to convey through the vehicle. In the near future these sketches will be refined into a select group of visual directions we seek to take. From there I will move forward in taking responcibility in translating the sketches into an engineering software, bringing the 3D forms to reality in bodywork... Enjoy and thanks in advance for the criticism...
First five images are in order from the latest ideas moving right to older concepts that still may hold merrit in their content....

the build/progress thread can be found here http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=159517

 

 

Thanks for posting. My favorite part is the one rotor 20B.

 

I was looking at the pics and figured, yeah another 14 year old artist dreaming. Kinda like another post saying what about putting a rotary in my Lada. Then, I see the actual project, yeah, way to go, looking forward to updates! And bragging rights for the 20b as well................

 

looks like a similar design to the T-Rex. im lovin the reference to the Furai concept race car on the front end

a T-Rex 7 if you will

 

Keep us posted please.

 

thanks for the comments guys, I'll get Moon over here on the 7 boards so he can comment and answer questions as well,,,
Our main competition is the T-Rex but from studying the build quality its pretty shitty with alot of shortcuts,,, T-Rex is around $60K when all said and done and our price piont will be mid to high 30s.
Expected weight will be 1K-1100lbs with the single rotor being turbo'd to 200-210hp....
With correct aero we hope to reach the 180mph mark, expect 160mph and will probably limit it to 140mph....

 

here are some more concept sketches before we reelled it back in to conform more to the Furai,,,,

 

Nice, how are you going to do the front head lights?

 

Well we figure that if the Furai, or something simular, would ever come to mass production that the Nagara philosophy would be toned down dramatically much more representative of whats be implemented into the 2010 MazdaSpeed 3 front grill. therefore many of the wind inspired elements would be more subtle or taken away entirely,,, the headlight however will be in the same place tucked with the side inlet grills. The black and white light study concept shown in the sketch shows a bulge in the upper portion of that inlet, this represents where we are going to put our headlight....

 

Hehe, im suprised that you guys noticed the 20B mockup housing. This has been a fun project, thought it should be shared with the 7 crew. Great idea Greg.

 

In my opinion your drawings look way too busy. We're entering a time where less is more. Getting back to basics. Simple monochromatic stuff is the next big thing.

 

thanks for pointing that out,,,
Thats one thing I try to do when I design, start with the wild and dial it back to the mild,,,
Ideas always flush to the surface when you have free reign to cram every possible design trend into several sketches,,, The smart part is the editing proccess, and without a doubt the most difficult and important, often its hard to describe ideas over the phone or in words, when its drawn out the customer immediately knows that they dont want that rather than trying to describe what they do want.

I aggree with you on the simplicity issue, and this project is no exception, most of the ruff sketches were ideas that were discussed over phone coversations with Moon, drawn, discussed more and either edited or dismissed.

The very top monochrome sketch represents our design standard and the language that is convieyed in the Furai is the inspiration, and that too has been edited down to not include the full dramatic features of Mazda's Nagara philosophy.

Again thanks for all opinions and critcisms, we are taking this project seriously and encourage any and all thoughts from our audience...

 

Rear view with a dash of color,,, brake light red that is...

 

Greg, all I have to say is thats insanly awsome. It looks so flowing and to the point. The whole less is more thing. It was mentioned that cars are going back to the basics, thats the whole point of what and how were doing this. Keep everything simple yet effective. Tec has gotten to the point of once it breaks just replace it. Thats not how were looking at it. Im trying to design this so simple and user friendly that its a joy to have to work on but everything so perfect that it lasts a long time, is affordable to fix if need be, and is a blast to drive. Im deffinatly going eco friendly on this but im not going into the details just yet. Just think about it this way, im expecting this whole puppy to weigh in at just over 800 pounds. Were expecting atleast 200 hp to the ground if not more in the top end model and atleast 100hp base model. The base model is in the power to weight ratio of a 600cc crotch rocket with a fat chick on the back.

 

I have to admit... at first i thought... these guys are nuts!!! But then i realized people drive more responsibly than me alot of the time lol. Congrats tho it looks great and i bet it will scream My real question is, what did you decide on the doors? From the sketch it looks like it may be gullwing. If so could a mock up flux capacitor be put in? I really look forward to updates guys keep up the awesome work!

 

Ahhh the doors,,,
Reverse gullwing much like the ones in the concept sketch below...

And with all the mechanical parts being in the upper portion near the drivers head attatched to the cage Im thinking about the lower portion(the area under the shoulder and in between the front fender outlet and the side intake) being romovable entirely, for warm weather cruises...

 

nice. i dig the full quad wheel style as well. Is it rolling yet?

 

should be in two weeks time...
Then it'll be road tested, once Moon gives it the thumbs up after suspension tuning and such its come up to me for the body...
Looking at late April early May for it to be refined and lessons learned adapted to frame #2 of 3(rolling prototypes)

 

 

Wow you guys are going hard on this project, good job. Looking forward to seeing it completed.

 

Wow Freakin awesome work guys i realy like how its coming out love the furai inspired look altho i do think the back is nice and smooth i think its a bit bubbly (to round dnt know how to explain) i feel it shoud be sharper think it would flow better either way keep it up awesome work.

 

nice concept sketches and an awesome looking project! Cant wait to see the end result, looks like its gona be a hoot!

 

Very awesome! Thread subscribed

 

Man that thing is gonna be a blast to drive!! Anticipating updates