V-Type-7 by Victor Lam, Australia

2006: California.

Drawings on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™

Biography:

Victor Lam, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Decorative Design from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, China and a Graduate Diploma in Design from University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is currently working a television serry project “Jane and The Dragon” for Weta Production as a lighting technical director. Other work experiences include chief designer and senior animator for Guangzhou Shengmei (Dream space) Digital Image Design Co. Ltd, and an interior designer for Guangdong Ji Mei Design & Construction Company.

Description:

V-Type-7’s concepts mainly drew from the nature-the creation of God, from animals to human, both physical appearance and psychological characteristic.

About the name, ‘V’ is standing for Variety; ‘7’ is a perfect number in bible, it also signifying the seven emotional feeling of man. (the numerical character of ‘7’ is embedded in the door of the car) V-Type-7 together is a reflection of the vary facets of personalities and characteristics, which is the theme of the exterior design.

The cab is mainly covered by glass, maximizing the adoption of natural light and making the limited space feel more special.

Mimics of musculature can be found in the structures of the car. On the other hand, the design also intends to reflect the different facet of human nature. For this purpose, totally different image is assigned to different parts of the car giving vary impression to the audience. (The overwhelming head light and the lovely tail is a good example of that.)

The suspension system is extended to the wheel level to cope with the extra load and torque that come along with the new powertrain system. The core of the wheel design is the electronic hub in the middle and the electronically controlled spring system around it.

Each spoke and the rim are configured with these flexible spring system. As a result, the whole wheel becomes deformable and its flexibility is being maximized. This will provide extra flexibility to the suspension system as a whole. Further, each spring is embedded a sensitive pressure sensor to provide necessary data to the electronic hub in the centre. According to this information, the electronic hub will automatically change the stiffness of each spring with consideration of different conditions, such as the speed of the car and the spin of the wheel and the pressure on each spring etc. In addition, the hub will provide the detail settings and conditions to the driver, so that the driver can alter the setting manually when necessary.