KITCAR DESIGN sketches/concepts year 2008-10

[fuoriserie]

The new MANXTER Dune buggy, on the long wheelbase VW platform, and with a scooby engine as an option

[fuoriserie]

a few more very nice looking images..........

[fuoriserie]

I think Cymtricks wanted to see and Elan plus 2 restyling, here is a very rough doodle based on an Mk1 MAZDA Mx5 rebody .......

[fuoriserie]

for those who like Astons like me, then here is my mx5 rebody kit design rough sketch........... last sketch on the mx5 platform..........looking for some cobra chassis........

Edited by fuoriserie on Thursday 21st June 13:57

[fuoriserie]

I forgot about this one.........

[fuoriserie]

neilrallying said:

Hi Italo,

I really like your MX5 rebody ideas, it is a good little platform and you are showing some nicely designed sketches. I hope that we may get to meet at a show sometime this year.

Neil.

Hi Neil, will try to be at one of the major shows later this year, and looking forward to it......

In reference to the mx5, I believe this to be a great little platform to play with, for bolt on rebody designs, or use its engine and chassis sunspension setup, for a new complete kitcar design.

Westfield is now using it as a donor, and many locosts are in the USA , maybe due to its excellent engine /chassis package.

What draws me to this platform is , its well designed and proven rear wheel drive platform, very good dealer worlwide network, so if you need parts or service your kitcar, you can just drive to your local dealer, and have your car checked.

Mazda mx5 production to date, more than 750.000 units, and let's say you have half of thiose still running, you have a huge potential niche market to tap into, with a great following and many tuning companies supplying parts.

With more stringent homologation laws, comming into force in Europe in the near future, and the fact that younger kids are not that mechanically inclined, just like me........, and a rebody design can still give a unique look to your sportscar, without having to wait so long for the build.

You will still have the hardcore kitcar builder........but that's going to be a small dying breed....., the younger Playstation kids, need to get their sportscar today and not wait for 6 -12 months..!!

Rebodies could be one of the solutions to consider......

Personally, the biggest buying factor for me would be, the design shape, and the fact that I could drive a new sportscar, without needing to homologate the car in italy....!!!!!!!!

Italy has one of the worst, and most bizzantine,homologatoion systems in the world, and we have very few kitcars over here, and most are considerd used Uk imports, to bypass VAT on new cars......., or registered in the Uk, and then imported as used bespoke one off kits.......

With a rebody, there is no need, because it would be considered as body kit/cosmetic enhancement, and the car is basically the same as the original, because there is no altering of the chassis, for italian laws.......

From the info i have, this goes on pretty much in every European country, with varying degrees of difficulties, depending on local laws.

In the next 2 to 5 years, cars will have to comply with more strict environmental regulations, and only big car manufacturers can spend millions on research and development.

We are on the brink of a new change, and its direction, will be clear in the next few years, and diversification into rebodies could be one of the solutions, for some kitcar manufacturers to survive,.

Another solution could be to build very expensive one-off bespoke sportscars for the well to do, just like the italian famous carrozzerias of the 60's.....but the design needs to step up considerably, to get the client that unique sportscar.


So that means that, if I can, and will ever be, able to drive a kitcar in italy, without going through various hassles, it can only be a rebody....... and when I become rich later in life,let's say 60!!, a kitcar.......

Few cars can be used for rebodies, the mx5 and the mr2, but in italy mx5's are cheaper and more plentiful.....and finally i could get to drive something different and unique......

Just my personal views, from I'm an old gt, and memory keeps failing me lately, and will deny every word I've said here ..........

Edited by fuoriserie on Friday 22 June 11:54

[fuoriserie]

neilrallying said:

Thanks Davi, interesting thoughts on a larger coupe vehicle.
Perhaps Italo's thoughts on a Murtaya Coupe are worth having a think about!
Neil.

or a 2+2 coupe design, being that quite a few have a family with kids, and need the extra space .

It does make manufacturing a lot more complicated though......

[fuoriserie]

I've always liked this very rough sketch, for a mid-engine coupe based on an Mr2 platform....

Edited by fuoriserie on Friday 22 June 19:48

[fuoriserie]

cymtriks said:

This is what I ment by a revised Elan +2

And this is a slightly more modren version of the same thing

Both of these are, obviously, altered images of real cars.


In all three pictures I've tried to avoid the usual style for concepts of oversize wheels and bodywork that won't actually fit around real mechanicals. That's one of the reasons I've started with a real car picture for two of them.

Cymtriks,
They all look like very interesting design concept with a lot of potential, but when I sketch or design something, i always try to think who is going to be the potential buyer.

I ask myself these questions:

Who is the potential buyer?

Why should they buy this car, instead of the competition?

What and where is the value of this design?

Manufacturing capabilities of the potential kitcar manufacturer and poitential builder of the kit?

Price to manufacture the kit?

Build costs by the enthusiasts?

I normally stop here, because very few of my designs pass all these requirements lately, due to various reasons, but most of the time, research and development costs.

Kits are becoming too expensive to develop for most manufacturers, and only a few can do so with new designs....

That is why the exo-skeleton design movement, will be picking up in the future, because most are just a rolling chassis, which will covered with very little bodywork.

I think we're on the verge of a big change , but unfortunately I can't tell more than what i have said in an earlier post.

I can see most kitcar manufacturers become Bespoke-one-off or limited run sportscar manufacturers, with a lot of replicas and a few original bespoke designs.

The rest will be locost sevens and exo-skeleton mid-engines, with a few trackday specials inspired by Radicals.

The only growth i can see, is bolt-on rebodies, with varying degrees of building complexity, but that is where my crystall ball ends......

Cheers
Italo

[fuoriserie]

GTRene said:

I like this one Italo...looks good, classic and chunky and muscular...nice.
GTRene

Ok Rene........I will place the order today for you....

On a serious note, would you buy thys type of kit ?, a bolt-on rebody for an mx5 ? would like to have some feedback on this niche.

What do You think of original design rebodies?

Edited by fuoriserie on Monday 25th June 09:41

[fuoriserie]

no more after this one......

[fuoriserie]

Twincam16 said:

Furioserie - I've had an idea for that nicely-trimmed GT.

You seen the WAM K3S (a gorgeous BMW-based Aston Martin DB3S replica)?

Something along the lines of the Jean Bloxham DB3S Coupe. Lined in leather with a couple of bags shaped to fit the sloping boot.

It would make a truly beautiful touring car, reliable, relatively economical and as robust as any production car.
.

Do you see it as a new redesign based on Bmw mechanicals, or just a replica design of the DB3 S coupe, but based on the WAM ? wasn't the Wam a prototype?, do they have a website I can visit ?

I've never seen the Jean Bloxham DB3S Coupe, but if you have pictures of it, please post them here.

Bmw mechanicals could work nicely for a more upmarket coupe, and a good way to recycle all those 320 rusting about........

Marlin is doing a nice job with its roadster !, maybe you could consider their platform

[fuoriserie]

Twincam16 said:

WAM don't have a website, they build to order at £35k a pop, or you can build your own for around £18k.

This is the DB3S, which WAM replicate:



This is the one-off coupe version:

I remember the car now.....but do you want an exact replica design with a few design alterations?, or a new design influenced by it?

Have you ever seen this db4 zagato barchetta? I think it looks great.......

Edited by fuoriserie on Wednesday 27th June 20:48

[fuoriserie]

Midas said:

How about a wider version of the Midas mk2 updated to take the Fiesta running gear and have a look of the RS concept only lower and more sporty, perhaps what a modern day Puma might look like?

You've hit on my favourite Midas design, and the idea is very intriguing..........but do you see a market for such a kit ?

Nice idea....

[fuoriserie]

Midas said:

Thanks, I think there is a market, an almost one donor car kit to create a distinctive economical practical little sports car, based on a readily available donor car that also happens to have all the mod cons that drivers today have come to expect.
A full kit price of around £4500 and the donor car for around £1500.

This is the exact niche of the Stingray Jester, check their price list in the link:

http://www.stingraymotorsport.com/jester.htm

and it's a single donor Ford Ka's instead of the fiesta .

This topic has been discussed before, maybe 3yrs ago..., but times are changing, and something similar could fly again .

Cheers
Italo

Edited by fuoriserie on Wednesday 2nd January 19:51

[fuoriserie]

Midas said:

Hi Italo,

That is just a typical summer toy kit car, I guess around 80% of kit cars produced are just as impractical.

To my mind most of the open kits made are even less practical than my motorbike, certainly not what I want from my kit car, but it would seem my thinking goes against what most people are looking for in a kit car.

Or could it be that they only buy impractical open cars because all of the other kit-cars with a roof are either dead boring or expensive and compliciated?

Perhaps there are a lot of potential kit-car buyers out there just waiting for such a car to come along?

Stuart

Hi Stuart,

I can see where yiu are coming from with your thinking, but manufacturing well designed kits, at a competitive price, and still making a little profit, is really difficult with most kits these days.

The more complicated and labour intensive to manufacture the kits are, the harder the sell to the potential buyers.

That is why many manufacturers are looking into designing Ariel Atom clones, because it's cheaper to design a steel chassis, and cover it with a few fiberglass shells, and you don't even need door, hinges and all those difficult things to make work right, for a small kitcar manufacturer.

Check this very good lengthy post:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

and search for the 3000-4000 kitcar design thread.

Both will give you pretty much an overview of the thinking on this niche market.I still think the concept is valid, a small and inexpensive fwd coupe, but Im pretty much alone with this thinking......

Cheers
Italo

Edited by fuoriserie on Wednesday 2nd January 20:55

[fuoriserie]

If they can sell a used Midas Bronze for 24.990Euros!!!! (about 17.500 Pounds)

http://www.motohand.com/?id=32658

Maybe someone needs to take the old mould out from the barn..........

Edited by fuoriserie on Saturday 5th January 18:03

[fuoriserie]

cymtriks said:

Two more concepts.

This is based on an MGA, it changes the front to a more sixties headlight design which I think makes a very pretty design. Take one restoration project MGA, add six inches in width, cut and more steeply rake the screen, change the front from the wheel arches forwards. The extra width would avoid the "narrow" classic look and give the car a lower and more modern stance. It also allows for a big V8...



Both of these follow the design concept of carrying over as much from older designs as possible. Much of the buck to take molds from is ready made in the first case, In the second the simplicty of the Seven is carried over.
One day I'll get that workshop...

I like this idea a lot , a retro design replica with modern mechanicals, I think it does have potential.

Italo

Edited by fuoriserie on Monday 7th January 15:40

[fuoriserie]

Midas said:

fuoriserie said:

If they can sell a used Midas Bronze for 24.990Euros!!!! (about 17.500 Pounds)

http://www.motohand.com/?id=32658

Maybe someone needs to take the old mould out from the barn..........

Edited by fuoriserie on Saturday 5th January 18:03

I'm rich and I didn't even know it!

I've got three Midas cars

You're a very lucky man...

[fuoriserie]

Midas said:

If only they sold for that, some go for £300

well then, I need to buy one.....