Plex
Zorce Jedi Master
Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 9039
Location: T&T
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 Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2007 6:16 am Post subject: F1: Audi F1 |
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Audi F1. The very idea is makes the heart skip a beat as if you�re thinking of something a bit taboo. Though everyone and their brother, sister and second cousin twice removed have whispered the unfounded rumors on internet forums and even on some news pages, most know that the likelihood of it actually happening is slim-to-none. Having invested considerably in the diesel R10 Le Mans program and shown a clear preference for participating in series where they can maximize on race-to-road technology development, it�s a very safe assumption to say that Audi won�t be going into Formula One any time soon. Still, seeing those four silver rings plastered on an F1 racecar is enough to cause some talk around the water cooler. All the better if such an sight is a super-detailed CGI based on an actual F1 chassis, as has been created by the talented Australian architect and designer Kim Stapleton.
As an Audi enthusiast, Kim has yearned to see the four-ringed brand in Formula One for years. From the time the designer initially laid eyes on the first studio imagery of the R10 TDI racecar, the car�s more radical and F1-looking aerodynamic shape, in particular the lines at the front, inspired him to go one step further and create a visualization of just what an Audi F1 entrant might look like.
Adding fuel to the fire were rumors at the time of Audi providing engines to the then-announced Red Bull team for 2008. Realistically, Kim knew this was unlikely, though that didn�t stop him from creating a 3D model of a potential 2006 Audi F1 racecar, later lightly modified to be the 2007-spec car Kim re-touched for this article.
The most important part of this project was making a believable Audi livery. In order to do that, Kim reviewed Audi�s racecar livery design language from the R10 and R8, back through the DTM years, STW in the mid 1990�s, and even the original Auto Union Grand Prix (F1 in its day) designs from the 1930s.
There was no question of color for Kim. If it was to be an Audi Sport sanctioned livery and not one by a main sponsor like Red Bull, then a factory-backed four-ringer had to be silver. �No compromise,� says Stapleton.
During his research, Kim came across some imagery of the Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz �Silver Arrows� racing the Monaco circuit in the 1930s, and that inspired the color layout. �I felt this �Silver Arrow� concept was apt, as the modern F1 shape is looking more and more like a jet or missile on wheels, and I feel the culmination of this concept is really evident in the side view of the car.�
Red was another important color as it is a part of the Audi Sport corporate logo, represented in Audi�s S and RS badging and almost always prevalent in any Audi Sport factory livery.
Another detail Stapleton noticed was sponsorship. Corporate logos of development partners adorning racing Audis comprise a lineup of usual suspects. Companies such as Bosch, Infineon, Mahle, Michelin and Shell were added. The OZ Racing logo was also affixed, along with OZ F1 spec wheels created by the designer for this application. A German flag makes the final touch for natural reasons.
Since Audi�s chief rivals at Mercedes-Benz and BMW run multi-car teams, it�s reasonable to imagine this fictitious Audi F1 effort having at least two team cars. Taking a cue from last year�s two-car R10 lineup, Kim has created a red car and a yellow car. Audi Sport did the very same thing this last year with the two R10s in order to more easily tell the cars apart in the heat of racing. It is a design cue that would make sense carried over to an F1 effort.
Having developed the basic layout of the livery, Kim applied the language as a skin to the base shape of last year�s Renault R26 F1 racecar. The designer chose the Renault chassis because he felt it was the most advanced-looking model that ran the 2006 F1 season. Given the complexity of Formula One designs and an overall look that is relatively hard to differentiate to the casual observer, Kim decided to forego designing a whole new chassis for this Audi experiment.
Stapleton says his next step in the project is to model the R10 TDI. He�d like to feature the models together. He also may revisit the project later in 2007 depending on what happens with this year�s Audi Sport livery as well, while a custom F1 car design is also something he�d like to tackle as he has time.
One of the images in Stapleton�s handsome gallery of the Audi F1 racecar is a conceptual launch poster.
�I basically wanted to tie in some of my own general style and techniques with the design of the car and livery. I had imagined this might be some sort of promotional poster used in the launch of the car, may that ever occur.�
�In a way, the shards of shiny metal and glass fusing together to spawn the cars' design, represent the coming-together of all the Audi brands' sharpest ideas, concepts and engineering techniques, in order to deliver an automobile capable of competing in the most advanced field of motor sport on the planet.�
It may be one of the most advanced forms of motorsport on the planet, but the reliable word from Ingolstadt is that Audi has no intentions of venturing into Formula One at this time. Still, photos like these make it easy to imagine just such a move. Things get even easier to imagine when you read comments like those of Ferrari F1 driver Marc Gene regarding the potential of diesel in F1. After sampling Peugeot�s diesel-powered LMP1 Le Mans effort last month, the Ferrari driver commented publicly that he couldn�t see what would stop F1 from going to diesel. Should that happen, maybe an Audi F1 team might be easier to imagine for executives at Audi as well.
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