Latest news with #automotiveDesign
Forbes
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test-Driving The ECD Automotive Design Series II Jaguar E-Type
Among the most gorgeous sports cars ever produced is the Jaguar E-Type convertible. Its sleek, slender figure has been a top inspiration in automotive design since its debut in 1961, and fully encompasses everything enthusiasts love about sports car driving. Today, acquiring and maintaining a pristine example requires an immense amount of devotion, and even then, its old-car driving experience may not live up to one's expectations for even occasional weekend duty. For those who want the experience of the original, yet with a host of modern luxury and performance upgrades, Florida-based ECD Automotive Design has them covered. I recently had the chance to take one of its Series II Jaguar E-Type-based GTO commissions for a spin around Malibu, California, and walked away simply mesmerized. Here's how this $599,000 creation is a sensational motoring experience. The first thing to know about ECD's GTO is, it's not entirely original. Scratch that, it's very unoriginal, but in the best way possible. The brand-new body is hand-formed by a small shop in the United Kingdom and then sent to the company's headquarters in Kissimmee, Florida. There, fresh subframes are fitted, as well as entirely new and upgraded suspension components, featuring Gaz adjustable dampers, sportier sway bars, Fossway multi-piston brake calipers with drilled and slotted rotors, and an adjustable coilover-type spring setup. The subframes themselves are actually based on the Series III E-Type generation due to their improved rigidity and durability. Finally, a quick-ratio new steering rack is bolted up to give it sharper, more responsive steering over anything originally fitted on an old Jag. This particular commission, dubbed the Connecticut commission by ECD, is sprayed in a gorgeously glossy metallic British Racing Green shade, because why would any discerning enthusiast select anything else? While many of ECD's builds feature a General Motors LT-based V8 engine and recalibrated 10-speed automatic gearbox, the Connecticut commission is special. An original Jaguar V12 was fitted, but not before being thoroughly rebuilt with every hot-rodded component available, including a billet stroker crankshaft, more aggressive camshafts, lightweight pistons, a good deal of porting and polishing done to the intake and exhaust ports, and modern fuel injection. The end result is a 6.8-liter masterpiece that produces 450 horsepower, and it isn't cheap: ticking the box for unit adds over $60,000 to the bill. Bolted up to its output shaft is a five-speed Tremec T5 gearbox, followed by a rebuilt and upgraded limited-slip differential from a Series III E-Type. Finally, it's kept cool with an upgraded aluminum radiator, and the exhaust system is entirely hand-built from port to plate. The remainder of the ECD GTO's finely crafted fare is what brings it up to its asking price. While exterior touches are scarce, the grille, lighting, headlight trim, and exterior handles all nicely complement the sleek body without impeding it. Inside, there's Lucente Hercules single-tone tan leather throughout, including on the GTO's comfortable (and heated) seating. A chic signature ECD center dash panel offers modern convenience yet styled in a manner that replicates the original Series I E-Type. Fine brass toggle switches, beautifully machined gauges, and a Series I-style push-button start up the opulence even further, and to contrast the rich warm tones, certain panels are painted in the same British Racing Green shade as the body. Before climbing into the GTO's Mazda Miata-sized stature, I'd had driving older sports cars on my mind, especially after piloting a '90s BMW M3 on track just a couple of days prior. This freshly re-imagined Jag is worlds apart from that old German brute, but was similar in the sense of feeling wonderfully light and responsive, and utilizing hydraulic fluid to power its steering. The massive V12 fired up instantly and idled down to an almost V8-muscle-car-like burble. Snicking its shifter into first gear felt wonderfully mechanical, and the clutch was quite forgiving, allowing for a smooth take-off onto Pacific Coast Highway. While the GTO's tiny dimensions didn't quite befit my tall stature, the seat was tremendously comfortable, and steering was light-yet-responsive. Ride quality was immensely good—it felt amply sporty, yet dealt with shoddy road features and undulations quite well. Finally, while steering feel was muted due to the system's period-correct steering box design, response and ratio were bang-on. Once the engine was warmed up and with enough empty pavement ahead of me, I downshifted to second gear, stomped on the throttle, and wound out the mighty 6.8-liter V12 to redline. In a word, it was heaven. The way this mechanical masterpiece confidently and linearly pulled up the rev band felt so good, and the accompanying, bass-filled howl was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. I've driven modern Aston Martins and Lamborghinis with 12 cylinders at their disposal, but this was different. Its beautiful wall of sound was truly something to behold, and, lucky me, I got to pass through a handful of tunnels on my way to my destination. Because its power came on so beautifully smooth and linear, 450 horses didn't feel in any way scary, despite the GTO's short wheelbase and featherlight curb weight. This thing had drivability and thrill—two traits that are often at odds in old sports car fare—in spades. Between its masterfully outfitted chassis, ravenous engine, gorgeous hand-formed body work, and top-tier interior, the ECD Auto Design Series II Jaguar E-Type GTO is a very special little sports car. After pouring over this example's many intricate details and taking it for a rip, I can confidently affirm that it's among the most unique sports car formulas ever that I've ever experienced, and will never cease to make its occupants grin as wide as its brawny engine's torque band.
Auto Car
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Here's how to design a 300mph hypercar, according to Hennessey
Designer of one of the world's fastest cars explains how designs can bend the laws of physics Hennessey Venom F5 is aiming to reach a top speed of 310mph-plus Close Ever wondered why so many supercars claim a '217mph-plus' top speed? The McLaren P1, LaFerrari and Lamborghini Revuelto are just a trio of heavy-hitting examples. An easy, clean conversion to a mite under 350kph is one possible reason. Another explanation, however, is aerodynamics. 'There's an exponential increase in difficulty and complexity beyond 220mph,' says Nathan Malinick, Hennessey's director of design. 'Most hypercars can do that no problem, but 250mph and above remains very, very difficult. You have to know what you're doing.' His most dramatic work so far is the Hennessey Venom F5, its target to be the fastest production car in the world. Its theoretical 310mph-plus top speed (itself a neat 500kph) will outstrip Bugatti and Koenigsegg should it come to fruition, but Malinick is only too familiar with the soaring aerodynamic challenges as you try to surpass the triple-ton – at which point you're covering a mile every 12 seconds and pushing tyre technology to its very margins. Handily, his CV includes work in the aerospace industry. 'We are a comparatively small company and we have to be extremely efficient. If our target was closer to 200mph then the requirements would be totally different. That's still fast, but it's nothing like 300, which is getting more into the aerospace side of things versus automotive,' he says. 'There is quite a bit of crossover. From an aesthetic and philosophical standpoint, the F5's interior is relatable to some of the cockpits that I was working on in my previous role. Simplicity drives a lot of what we do; on the exterior, it drove things in maybe unusual ways. One instance would be a lack of active aerodynamics, because we didn't want to have an aspect of the car that would be susceptible to a failure at such high speeds. 'You're not going to see the flicks and blades of an F1 car on an F-35 or F-22 jet. Likewise, you're not going to see them on our car because they contradict its purpose of top speed.' Supercars mostly sell on glamour, so how easy is it for Malinick to ensure his team's designs are beautiful enough to be coveted by the collectors with the requisite millions to buy one? 'We're lucky to have creative engineers who recognise the value of design and want to support it, because ultimately people buy with their eyes,' he says. 'The kind of people we're talking to already have one of everything. Our car needs to pull on their heartstrings. 'Our design and engineering teams work hand in hand. It's not like we progress a design element and then say: 'Hey engineering, take a look and see what you think.' Feedback is in real time. We might need to stop and take something into CFD [computational fluid dynamics], or rapid-prototype something in the wind tunnel to ensure there's no time lost. 'The engineers are helpful in saying 'this area of the car is not as significant, so do whatever you want here'. But sometimes our design will be dictated by function. Some of that is neat: a purely engineering-driven detail underneath the car that you're not going to see unless it's jacked up on a lift.' Despite its lofty goals and Malinick's aerospace past, the Venom F5 can still thank pencil and paper for its design. 'I do a ton of sketching,' admits Malinick. 'It's my favourite part of the process. I probably have thousands and thousands of sketches, whether it's F5 or what we're moving onto next.' It's bait I can't resist taking: what is coming next? He says: 'If the F5 is all about performance, the next car is about driving interaction. It's not going to be as powerful; it doesn't need to be. "The feedback we've had from customers and dealers has been really strong. It's very much the antithesis to the digital age of cars we find ourselves in.' Does that mean it's a manual? 'If the customers come back and say 'we want a DCT', okay, that's fine,' he says. 'But as of now, I'd say it's analogue to the nth degree.' Which suggests it will be free of the Venom's turbocharging. 'We're still determining that,' says Malinick, 'but we're leaning towards something free of forced induction for the purity of it all. "We want something very, very high-revving.' Sounds like a noble target to us. Join our WhatsApp community and be the first to read about the latest news and reviews wowing the car world. Our community is the best, easiest and most direct place to tap into the minds of Autocar, and if you join you'll also be treated to unique WhatsApp content. You can leave at any time after joining - check our full privacy policy here.
Edmunds
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Edmunds
The 2025 Lexus ES350 Is Slow, Old and Brilliant
We already know a lot about the next Lexus ES, and it's nothing like the car you see here. Lexus is headed straight for the future with the next iteration of its midsize sedan, so much so that it might make the current car seem a bit dull. Old-fashioned, even. The current ES is still a handsome sedan. The simple surfacing, clean lines, relatively short wheelbase and long overhangs are reminiscent of the original LS 400. The ES has a busier face, sure, but its overall proportions are within tenths of an inch of that very first Lexus sold in America. The same things Lexus nailed in 1990, it gets right here, too. All the panels line up perfectly; there are no obvious gaps inside or out. The interior feels expensive, and there is a robust mix of materials that help break up lines in interesting ways. You can even have wood inlays with real grain and texture.
Auto Car
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Bangle design, Integrale engines with a Pininfarina interior - from £5000
Proportions more arresting than elegant. Superfluous, slash-like indentations above the wheel housings. Double-blistered headlamp covers, deep-recessed taillights, an aluminium flip-top fuel filler, an aluminium key-fob and a bold repeat of the car's exterior colour arcing across the dashboard. This was the Fiat Coupé, a car unexpectedly signaling that its maker was ready to build sports cars again, and a car signaling the arrival of one Chris Bangle, a designer who would soon stir up the car industry like few designers before him. This car was a surprise not just for its shape, but because Fiat had previously said that it would no longer make pure sports cars, despite a glorious run in the 1960s that included the pretty 850 Coupé and Spider, the 124 Spider, the 124 and 128 Coupés, the Dino Coupé and the exquisite Fiat Dino Spider. That was before Paolo Cantarella arrived to take charge of Fiat Auto in 1989. Cantarella was a businessman who had previously managed the Fiat Group's industrial robot division Comau, but he was also a car enthusiast, and acutely aware of the Italian car industry's past successes Like any CEO, his overriding mission was to keep the Fiat Auto motor running sweetly, and while Puntos and Pandas sold by the trainload, the bigger Tipos and Cromas were more of a struggle. The Fiat brand needed some burnishing and, if the numbers could be made to work, this new coupé could help. Work began around 1991 at both Fiat Centro Stile and Pininfarina, the pair producing quite different proposals. Pininfarina's was crisp, subtle, well-proportioned, elegant and conventional. Fiat's in-house suggestion bordered on the outlandish, its wheel arches capped with angled elliptical blisters in black, a crease bisecting the upper third of its doors at exactly the same angle. Its tail was short, its boot lid no more than a modest capping. It wasn't beautiful but it was daring, original and fresh. Fiat bravely went with this proposal rather than Pininfarina's, and while the finished article grew a longer and appealingly pert tail, the spirit of Bangle's startling design survived largely intact. Pininfarina's interior suggestion featuring a swathe of body colour paneling across dashboard and doors easily won the interior competition, the coachbuilder also winning the manufacturing contract.
