However, a concept car mostly exists just to look good and provide photo opportunities, so minimal investment is necessary in the sort of mechanics and electronics that would make a real car roadworthy.įor more information about concept cars and other related topics, follow the links on the next page. Before the concept car (or, more likely, a vehicle that incorporates features borrowed from it) can go into actual production, a working production intent vehicle needs to be built - and yes, that's expensive. To make a concept car that can actually be driven, automakers will sometimes take the drivetrain from an existing car and insert it in the concept car, thus saving the expense of developing a custom drivetrain.
This greatly speeds the process, without the need for human modelers to work with clay - although many designers still feel that working clay by hand is necessary to achieve a precise design and to compensate for problems that are not necessarily obvious in the original computer model.Ī non-working mock-up of a concept car is often adequate for display at auto shows and for publicity pictures. With the development of computer numeric control (CNC) equipment, a computer aided design/computer aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) program can directly operate automated cutting machinery that can make a model out of clay, metal or fiberglass. Since this full-sized model may be the culmination of a process of producing smaller models for proof of concept, the total cost may be even higher. Although scale-model concept vehicles may cost less than $100,000 to produce, the cost of developing a full-sized clay concept car for a major automaker is generally greater than $100,000 and can be as high as $300,000 or more, with much of this money going to pay the salaries of the highly skilled designers and modelers who often put in weeks or months on the project. Traditionally, the next step is to model the car in industrial plasticine, more commonly referred to as modeling clay, which can be molded into shape, then hardened, painted and shellacked to look like an operational vehicle (which many concept cars are not).
#Clay car body design series#
The process by which a concept car is produced usually begins with a series of drawings, starting with rough sketches and progressing to detailed blueprints - often created on computer. And a few can actually drive around the block and at least give the impression to onlookers that they operate like a genuine production model. Others are big enough to look realistic at auto shows, but don't have a working engine. More generally, it can be labeled Fluid Dynamics because air is really just a very thin type of fluid. Aerodynamics is the science of how air flows around and inside objects.
Some are scale models - so small they can sit in a display case. Car Aerodynamics Basics and How-To Design Tips. This programme will be intensive skill based programs which will have inputs in design fundamentals, form studies, technical design, digital modelling, materials and model making.That's a difficult question to answer because there are many different kinds of concept cars. With the aim to address this gap, SIAM will be supporting MITID, Pune for starting an Automotive Clay Modelling programme. Find car design clay model stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. The importance of clay models in helping to visualize & sell concepts cannot be overstated and though the related skill sets are much in demand, their availability well below was is need by the industry be it transportation or product. A part of this effort is undertaken through the proper training and mentoring of students as well as practicing designers, digital & physical modellers.Īutomotive Clay Modelling was identified collectively by Indian OEMs as an area with a gap between the supply & demand of skilled personnel.
Through its Styling & Design Group, SIAM is committed to strengthening the Indian automotive-design ecosystem. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is the apex Industry body representing leading vehicle & vehicular engine manufacturers in India.