The Creation of a Clay Model
For anyone who might be interested, I thought I would document the creation of my major project on my blog.
The aim is to create a model in 1/4 scale, using faber clay, the same type used in the automotive industry. After months of design, research, reports I had come up with my final design, or at least the larger part of the overall design of this vehicle.
The vehicle I should mention, is going to be a small, agile, mid engined sports car. The brand I am designing it for is Alfa Romeo, this ties in quite well with the brands centenary celebrations this year.
I want to create a car that reminds people of the real sports cars Alfa Romeo was producing many years ago, hence the mid engined layout, just like the 33. The return of real wheel drive is crucial, Alfisti still consider the 75 to be the last ‘real’ Alfa Romeo. In my personal opinion, the 8C is a great car, shockingly beautiful, but it is not a ‘complete’ Alfa Romeo, sadly I believe that part sharing was necessary for such a car to made considering Alfa Romeo’s situation.
Small, aimed to not be longer than 4 meters, this is more than enough for a true sports car. I don’t like the trend the car industry is following of making everything bigger.
Light, projected weight not over 1300kgs, weight means higher fuel consumption, more power needed to get high performance.
The engine, a 2.0 V8 is a reminder of what Alfa Romeo was capable of engineering. in the ’60s their 2.0 V8 designed by Carlo Chiti produced 230hp, so with Alfa Romeo’s latest engineering feat, MultiAir, and advancements in engine design the engine could easily pass the 300hp mark. This is excluding the use of Turbochargers, where much higher power output figures would be possible. The adoption of a small electric motor for the front axle is also a key feature.
As for the actual physical model, to start applying the clay, a foam base must be constructed.
Once this tedious job has been completed, clay is used to cover the foam and try to create a model as similar as possible to what you designed.
More to follow…
