Second year BA (Hons) Automotive & Transport Design students were set a live brief by McLaren Designer David Short to design a hypercar for 2044 and will be unveiling their concepts at an exhibition in the University’s Catalyst Building next week.
The students took part in an intensive two week design sprint to generate and refine their ideas, from initial hand-drawn sketches to using CAD software and integrated AI to render their designs, as well as using more traditional skills such as tape drawings and building clay models.
Ethan Meekin, 20, from Manchester, has designed a car powered by electric motors and inspired by a peregrine falcon.
He said: “To be given a live brief by a designer from a prestigious brand like Mclaren is great. We’ve had guidance from many different professionals throughout the process so it has been a great opportunity.
"I wanted to go for something that hasn’t necessarily been seen before. There is almost no underside on my car and it has a glass cabin in a teardrop shape. I was inspired by a peregrine falcon diving because its body performs the perfect golden ratio shape for aerodynamics.”
Stosh Toews, who moved from Canada to study at University of Staffordshire, said: “This is pretty much the dream brief! To actually be working on a McLaren project and have them come to the exhibition is sick.
“If you think too much when designing, then you get something that is already there. I did sketches every 20 seconds and tried to get an idea out, something conceptual that I could bring back to a car.”
Course mate Lilla Csetai hopes her unique design will stand out from the crowd. “My design is quite different. I saw a quote from McLaren that ‘every car is sculpted by air’ so I went with that idea. I have layering on the bonnet, it is very aerodynamic and sculptural. It’s futuristic and hopefully it looks epic!” commented the 20-year-old, from Preston.
“This process has helped me realise how much I enjoy clay modelling. A lot of people ask why the industry still uses clay models, but staring at a screen is totally different to having a physical object in front of you. It helped me to evolve my CAD design way beyond what I thought I could.”
Richard Gilmartin, Co-Course Leader for Automotive & Transport Design, added: “It is important on the course to have opportunities for students to engage with industry and get feedback from professionals to expand their knowledge and skills.
“This was an exciting brief which has allowed the students to really push the boundaries. When you design something that goes very fast, you have to think about the proportions and about active aerodynamics. To do it well is really difficult but the students have done a fantastic job.”
The Hypercar Design 2044: A Catalyst for the Future exhibition takes place from 25 – 31 March in the Catalyst Building at University of Staffordshire’s Leek Road site in Stoke-on-Trent.
For more information see University of Staffordshire’s Automotive & Transport Design Tik Tok and Instagram, or contact Richard Gilmartin on Richard.Gilmartin@staffs.ac.uk.