What would a Tesla-made Le Mans racecar look like?

I’ll tell you what it would look like. Short of having Elon Musk’s flamethrower as an afterburner, a Tesla racecar would be all kinds of awesome. Even Miguel Angel Bahri feels so, as is captured in his conceptual Tesla T1 racer. Originally designed for the Michelin Design Challenge, the Tesla T1 is a conceptual Le Mans racecar with an electric drivetrain powered – in part – by the wind hitting against your vehicle when you drive at high speeds. The car comes with specially designed wheels that have independently rotating turbines in them that begin to generate power to the four individual drivetrains, along with a massive turbine right behind the driver that rotates more the faster you drive, generating power for the car. It’s an incredibly ambitious concept, but so was landing all three boosters of the Falcon 9, digging a tunnel under the ground to circumvent traffic, and creating a brain-to-machine interface… in short, nothing’s quite impossible for Mr. Musk. You’d probably wonder that those turbines would need to create sufficient drag to rotate fast, and you’d be right, but the car would probably more than make up for that by giving it the range it needs to complete the 24 hour Le Mans race.

Designer: Miguel Angel Bahri

Half a Porsche, Twice the Fun!

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The 618 is a two-wheeled twist on the Porsche brand that takes direct inspiration from the 911 turbo. The result is an electric retro-modern power cruiser with a sporty silhouette that essentially looks like half a Porsche sportscar!

Inspired by the flat-six architecture of the 911, the idea was to represent the flat and low center of gravity concept into the suspension and exterior design. The center hub steering concept was key in achieving the right balance between design surfaces and mechanical features. For instance, the heavy visual parts such as the directional components, front and rear arms, and even the spring configurations fall below the middle of the motorcycle.

Additional features include a cool monocoque body with a Le Mans style door (where the tank would be) that opens to reveal a luggage compartment perfectly sized for storing a helmet and gloves, a sleek digital display, fan cooling, and folding footrests.

Designer: Miguel Angel Bahri

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Be One With the Machine

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Named after the Japanese word for “immersed”, the Mazda Shinshi concept aims to do just that! A stark contrast to the current autonomous movement, it’s designed around the driver to create the sense of the vehicle being an extension of the body.

Placed at the center of the vehicle, both driver and passenger will experience an exhilarating, racing-style sensation. This also has its technical advantages including better weight distribution, panoramic vision, and enhanced feedback.

As far as looks go, it’s gotta be the sexiest Mazda out there! Thanks to the centered driving position, it sports an extremely narrow, jet-like cabin. The flared front half has all the trimmings of a modern supercar but the open rear wheels and jutting tail are reminiscent of Formula One. Inside, the F1 attitude continues with a tightly enclosed yet highly visible cockpit and wide-handled, dashboard-integrated steering wheel.

The powertrain consists of 4 in-wheel electric motors fed by a high charge/discharge rating supercapacitor, accompanied by a rotary bio-fueled engine that serves only as a range extender for the main battery. This setting allows the Shinshi to have enough clean energy for the cities and plenty of power for fun on the racetrack without running out of battery.

Designer: Miguel Angel Bahri

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A 4 Turbine Tesla

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Turbines? What turbines? Well, they’re not the kind you might expect and you’ll have to look a little lower to find ’em! Envisioned for the year 2030, the Tesla T1 concept explores the future of energy efficiency in the most extreme racing scenario: the 24 Hours of Le Mans!

The electric competitor is structurally defined by aerodynamics but it’s the innovative wheels that steal the show. Each free standing wheel is based on the Gorlov wind turbine – an elongated alternative to flat turbines that harnesses wind from all directions to make it incredibly efficient. The system is incorporated into each wheel to provide an independent air suction turbine. Each and every one of the 4 wheels canalizes the air through ducts into the fifth and biggest turbine at the back tail to provide the greater acceleration and power to win. The designers call it the “holy grail of renewable energy!”

Designers: Miguel Ángel Bahri, Omar Alfarra Zendah, Abelardo Bahri, & Federico Abascal

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