Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
I think the rendering makes it look like the roof is glass, but I don't think it is. They will be show the actual car in the next month or two, and we'll get a better look at it.
The front wheel fairings are now fixed, as far as I know. They must have enough room on the inside for the wheels to pivot. The suspension is still inside the wheels.
It appears to be a three door - one on the left/driver's side and two on the right/passenger's side. The chassis is now an aluminum extrusion that surrounds the passenger compartment; rather than the steel tubes used on the earlier versions.
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A few modifications to Neil's info: The "bones" of the car will be complete, not the exterior skin, glass etc. The renders are best reference for now.
Front wheel fairings are fixed to add energy absorbing structure. Outer fairing is open, inner fairing will be designed for wheel pivot and splash protection. A few designs are in the works for that.
Chassis includes steel tubing in specific areas. It's assembled by hand like many other parts of the car, laser cut aluminum, bent, riveted, and like much of the prototype, final parts will obviously be different when mass produced vs. the current hand riveted, welded work and the CNC'd components and structure.
Regarding retro-fitting the suspension into a production car, it's important to consider all the suspension-related structure in a vehicle, the chassis design, what the bulkheads are like, etc. Retro-fit is a convenient word, but removing un-needed structure related to a stock suspension is part of the mass reduction the suspension offers. There's definitely vehicle modification required. But for an OEM, odds are it's a lot less work than what they do now to reduce the same amount of mass. What happens when a consumer modifies a DOT safety-rated chassis? Good question.