Design Los Angeles asks how motor-racing will look in 2025

After last year being asked to provide a glimpse of what automobiles will look like 50 years into the future, design studios vying for recognition in this year's LA Auto Show Design Challenge are leaving city streets behind and heading for the racetrack under the theme "Motorsports 2025". Throwing away preconceptions of what motor racing should be and incorporating the possibility of cars that never crash or need re-fueling, nine of Southern California’s big-name automotive design houses have submitted entries, and again the results are both outrageous and thought provoking - from vehicles that race over land, sea and air to 8 x 4 wheel-drive ATVs and solar sailing energy-miser's that compete on see-through tracks.

Starting with our pick of the bunch, the nine entries are:

Mercedes-Benz Formula Zero - Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design of North America

An amalgam of Formula One racing and Olympic bobsledding, this elegant concept adds an aero-efficient solar skin and rigid sail to a 1930’s inspired racer powered by electric hub motors. The idea is to allocate the same amount of stored energy for each vehicle in the race with the winner determined by a combination of total elapsed time and energy efficiency. An awesome extra dimension for spectators is the curving, transparent track which would allow the cars to be viewed from all angles - including from underneath.

(Design team: Alan Barrington, George Yoo, Kevin Verduyn)

Audi R25 - Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California

Audi also envisions the evolution of race tracks that incorporate high-velocity banks and tunnels which would see cars passing each other upside-down. While still retaining the look of a traditional Le Mans racecar, the electric R25 design applies a range of innovations such as a flexible Dynamic Space Frame, active micro-control surfaces which optimize airflow and a sophisticated Man Machine Interface which not only transfers all vehicle data to the driver’s helmet visor, but also uses sensors and integrated HD cameras to facilitating real-time VR systems that would allow spectators to sit drivers seat.

The low-fuel consumption (and action) is enhanced by wireless electrical charging zones on the top sections of the tunnels and banks which let the drivers access free energy instead of making fuel stops.

(Design Team: Claus Potthoff, Hendrik Veltmann, Jae Min, Craig Durfey, Raul Cenan, Taeho Kim, Tomi Lin, Nancy Holman, Alex Marzo)

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