For the past five years, the LA Design Challenge has created a unique opportunity for automotive design studios based on the west coast to envision a vehicle segment in the future in a competition format. In years past the challenge has produced concepts that offer a new perspective on vehicle styling, integrate future technologies, and bend if not break the rules of engineering. Its an opportunity for designers to have some fun.
This year the theme was to imagine what race cars might be like in 2025. Looking at new ways of powering the vehicles was common to all the entries. Here’s some details on four of them:
Audi created the R25 to compete in the inaugural 2025 American Le Mans Series in Los Angeles. The design team not only designed the car but also proposed ideas for how the race track will be designed and how spectators will watch. The R25 can be driven upside down, on the new tunnel style track. The car runs on Algae bio fuel for endurance and electric motor capability through Wireless power transfer technology. All top sections of the tunnels and banks are WiTricity wireless electrical charging zones, which encourage the drivers to utilize these free energy zones instead of fuel stops.
BMW has designed a hydrogen powered salt flat racer based on the premise of Reuse (instead of recycle). This concept utilizes existing, ordinary, and mundane materials, such as old oil barrels and barbeque lids, as main components for the body and wheel discs. Friendly, whimsical and sustainable, the concept employs goldfish as “co-pilots” or “canaries-in-a-coal mine” to ensure that the vehicle is running clean emissions (if your fish get sick, you must be running “rich”). The wheels are gel-nylon for necessary flex, allowing tires to be airless and revulcanized or re-treaded.
Designed for the 2025 revival of the LA Times Grand Prix, the Chaparral Volt from GM uses advanced EREV propulsion, energy collection, generation and management system to create an entirely new category of racing – the ecotriathlon. The Chaparral Volt collects and generates its own energy from three different clean, renewable and abundant California resources: Earth, Wind and Fire. (Earth) Gravity and momentum-capture regeneration and aero-thermal resistance provide astounding levels of braking efficiency in addition to active energy regeneration. (Wind) Building on the legendary Chaparral 2J, the Volt utilizes rear turbine extractors for power cell cooling, down force and (in reversed direction) a combination of aero-assist braking and energy regeneration. Fire (Radiant Sunlight) Integrated thin-film PV panels for the racer’s body and team support unit takes advantage of Southern California’s most abundant resource, the sun, and converts it for use as the Chaparral Volt’s primary energy source.
Volkswagen goes off-road for the 2025 Baja 1000. The Baja 1000 now introduces the “One Tank Unlimited Solo Class.” The only stipulations are one driver and one 10-gallon tank of fuel, forcing competitors to use every bit of technology, strategy, and wit to finish. The VW Bio Runner is driven much like a motorcycle. The rider is positioned inside a protective cage on a motorcycle-like saddle with controls attached to the hands and feet This system allows the rider to lean into turns as well as shift the center of gravity by changing the position of the wheels in relation to the cab. This system offers an unparalleled degree of control and traction which ultimately results in much higher speed runs. The vehicle is powered by dual-turbine engines that run at an ultra-efficient 500,000 rpm and operate on a patented bio-synthetic jet fuel. The vehicle also boasts an Arial Reconnaissance Drone (AR-D) which feeds video to the driver when visibility is limited.
We’ve picked out a few favorite images below but there are many more. A gallery of all the design proposals are available at the 2008 LA Design Challenge site.
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