Conception of a supercar
With a few years of mechanics behind me (I have a background in engineering), strong notion in 3D modeling, a correct level in drawing, and time in front of me, I went ahead and threw myself in a challenge : why not create my own car ? Not just the design, but the entire concept. Engine, frame, chassis, body and interior: the whole thing !
First, I had to choose the architecture of the vehicle. I decided to go for a supercar with central rear engine, the kind that's ridiculously powerful.
The configuration was to be as follows:
- Two seats
- A huge rear engine compartment
- Front hood
- Large side air intakes to cool the engine
- Aggressive look, with a touch of elegance.
- Aerodynamic body
- Four-wheel drive to distribute engine power evenly
Once these details were established, it was clear that I could not create my own engine from scratch. It is a task far beyond my skills. So it meant using the engine of another manufacturer.
I wanted my car to be equipped with the the most powerful of all : the 1,500 horsepower engine of the Bugatti Chiron. Because why not ! This is in a virtual project after all. All of this was very fun, but I still had to model the engine... and there, it got complicated. Firstly because an engine has hundreds of parts, and secondly because Bugatti did not publish its blueprint.
I found myself with a monster of complexity to model without its plans ! It takes persistence to move forward. I gathered all the photos I could find on the subject, compilling over 80 pictures of the engine. The modeling job took me almost two months.
I was done with the engine. Now remained to add it to the frame, the "skeleton" of the vehicle.
The mechanics had to be realistic, so I spent a long time documenting myself on the subject. I modelled large brake discs, the suspension and I really went into details for the steering system, as you can see in the picture below.
Textures and materials are also important. Patinated metal for the brake disc, brushed aluminum for metal beams etc.
I carried on by modeling the four-wheel drive transmission (the torque goes through the front and back of the engine). After two weeks of additional modeling, my frame was finally finished !
It's time to move on to the design! The program : Large air intakes, aggressive headlights, touches of carbon fibers and large rims.
Below is a drawing of the finalized design, made with Promarker markers and colored pencils.
From the sketches, I was able to model the bodywork. Below the modeling of the exterior of the vehicle. Nothing special to say about this task, except that it requires a good knowledge of modeling tools, rigor and patience.
I had to be careful to check the curvature of the body to avoid bad reflections for the rendering.
Now, on to the design of the inside of the car. I modeled a rather classic yet classy interior without too much detail.
You can notice the relief between the seats where the large transmission beam is located.
With the frame, the body and the interior, all the "visible" parts of the car were done.
It's time to move on to the invisible part, the ones hidden under the body.
Following the body lines, I have modeled all the structural parts of the car. Honestly, it did take a lot of work. I do not have the tools for structural calculation. However, the structure had to be as realistic as possible, so I used extensive documentation, in addition to my knowledge of structural calculation (I used to work as a calculation engineer).
The challenge here was to refine each detail, check the modeling, apply the textures, take care of the various lightings, render parameters etc.
Last step to have some fun, paint the car like a race car. Addition of dust, damage, dirt, which gives it a more vibrant feel.
