Concept Car - Daihatsu UFE-II

[Raysp30]

I'm posting this for a few reasons: I think it looks pretty cool, and I think I might be able to modify my CRX to look quasi similar to it.

Any aeronuts see anything to improve on? I love the front of it. It's not really that the car has front wheel splitters, as much as the nose of the car lets the air flow smoothly to the underside WITHOUT having to add a new nose to the car and make the car longer (I like having my CRX having a small footprint).

One question I have, where would you put the front license plate, assuming you wanted to follow all the laws (at least in WI) and have it in the front as well as back.

Any thoughts on the rear? It is exceptionally flat. I think the idea is that it's a boattail design that didn't opt to go the entire length of the boattail. I know there are books that theoretically describe this as being okay, however it does make sense that it would improve if it was a full boattail. Not sure what effect the fin is supposed to have...

[MetroMPG]

Yes, a lovely, lovely car.

Originally Posted by Raysp30

Any aeronuts see anything to improve on?

Perhaps: front wheel skirts, boat-tailing aft of the wheels

But a Cd of .19 is hard to beat! (source)

One question I have, where would you put the front license plate, assuming you wanted to follow all the laws (at least in WI) and have it in the front as well as back.

Some people have made their front plates integral to their partial grille blocks. Seems like a good idea to me.

Any thoughts on the rear? I know there are books that theoretically describe this as being okay, however it does make sense that it would improve if it was a full boattail. Not sure what effect the fin is supposed to have...

This is a classic Kammback design. It would have nicely attached flow along the length of the roof & sides, and down the hatch glass, then sharply truncated with minimal aero penalty vs. a full boat tail.

The boat tail would net a bit better aero, but with some impact on practicality.

As for the fin, I think it's just styling. Somewhere to put the center brake light. Possibly a structure to trip crosswind airflow for stability reasons. (But I'd put my money on guess #1 in a bet).

[MazdaMatt]

Slick. The clear plastic pizza pans are interesting, too. I like the cat-fish front end shape.

[Katana]

Front looks a bit like a face frowning or sighing but the rest is pretty cool.
I like the alloy wheels with the smooth plastic covers as well, a nice compromise if you want to have the look of alloys but a smooth outer wheel surface.

[MetroMPG]

Mercedes took the "clear plastic so it doesn't look too aeromodded" approach with its F700 Diesotto concept rear wheel skirts:



Click here to zoom in on a big (1200px) image that shows the rear skirt in more detail.

[bbjsw10]

All that car is missing is the "Night Rider" light across that very tiny grill, Then and only then I would drive the wheels off of it. Sweet little car and very doable with a crx with a lot of body work knowledge. I didn't even notice the clear plastic wheel opening covers, Pretty cool maybe I could sneak my wife's civic out for a few and make some for hers.

[akcapeco]

It's very interesting. I find this car to be lovely too.

What amazes me is that I didn't always think this way. Once you see the intention of a design (and maybe that a design has an intention), you begin to appreciate how they've taken principles, applied them, and made a distinctive design.

My profession is design... and so, so much of it is aimless.

[akcapeco]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

As for the fin, I think it's just styling. Somewhere to put the center brake light. Possibly a structure to trip crosswind airflow for stability reasons. (But I'd put my money on guess #1 in a bet).

This could actually be functional: it could double as a GPS/Digital Radio antenna.

[cfg83]

Raysp30 -

Great find! It's amazing how many 'Lil Commuter designs turn into CRX's.

CarloSW2

[DaihatsuFreak]

Hi,

I just found this website while browsing the net. It looks great. You know, this UFE-II is an old concept of Daihatsu. As you already get idea of what I am all about from my nickname I know a little something about Daihatsu.

Here it is, its descendant: UFE-III... It goes 72 kilometers with only 1 liter of gasoline!

You may find additional info from my website at:
Ekonomi kelimesine yeni anlam kazandiran konseptimiz: UFEIII : UFEIII : Daihatsu Askina Forum
(unfortunately it is in Turkish but I am planning to create an English version soon)

What do you think?

[Will]

I see only one problem with this car.... It's not mine! WAAA!!!!!

[Geebee]

Vinyl numbers stuck on the shell for the rego plate.

[Hasbro]

What a sweet car. Does anyone know if there are tires available that come anywhere near to those shown?

[mattW]

What are the seating layouts in both cars? Is the second one a single seater or a 1 +2 thing?

[Johnny Mullet]

What? No cup holder?

[DaihatsuFreak]

Originally Posted by mattW

What are the seating layouts in both cars? Is the second one a single seater or a 1 +2 thing?

Both cars are three seaters.

[cfg83]

MetroMPG -

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Mercedes took the "clear plastic so it doesn't look too aeromodded" approach with its F700 Diesotto concept rear wheel skirts:



Click here to zoom in on a big (1200px) image that shows the rear skirt in more detail.

I just took a closer look at the clear skirt :

mb_clear_skirt.200p.jpg

I rotated it based on the center-point of the center of the wheel and drew "design lines". It looks like the skirt is using the side/bumper design line as a basis for the angle of the clear skirt.

I like the clear skirt because it is a good compromise for people that don't like the wheel skirt look. However, it's just *gotta* get covered in dirt underneath, right?!?!?!?! I could totally see MBenz installing interior "wheel washer nozzles" for this, .

CarloSW2

[jdub]

The next evolution in the design:

DAIHATSU:Motor Show

[NeilBlanchard]

Schwing!

My only problem with the 3rd generation is the structural compromise of having that huge door -- it can't help it crash worthiness.

The result is possibly the lowest aerodynamic drag coefficient in the world for this class of minivehicle: 0.168, surpassing the 0.19 Cd figure of the UFE-II. Other notable efforts which enhance fuel economy are the composite polymer body and generous use of aluminum to reduce weight to 440kg, and the new 115/65R16 tires, which reduce rolling resistance.

(emphasis is mine)

But aerodynamically, they are both awesome. If they do over 200mpg (72km/l = [169]mpg!), then -- where can I buy one?!

[i_am_socket]

ooooooo..... pretty.......