Photo: Mauro Fragiotta/Mark Beccaloni
Most cars today use an unibody construction, meaning that there is no old school rigid chassis under their skin, but an intricate skeleton made out of fused together stamped sheets of metal. This type of construction has a lot of advantages, but it’s somehow a pain in the arse if you want a very lightweight car.
Of course, many people consider that skeleton very ugly and it’s not that aerodynamic too, so body panels are used to mask everything off in a nice shape and also offer a better airflow, but with considerable extra weight added.
Now, since electric vehicles and hybrids need to be efficient with their juice, a good way to do that is to make them as lightweight as possible. And here comes the geodesic structure the EXO uses here.
The term “geodesic” is the equivalent of using straight lines to create curved spaces. It’s a term coming from “geodesy”, which is the science of measuring the size and shape of Earth. In its original sense, the geodesic is the shortest route between two points on the surface of the planet.
Now imagine an array of equally-positioned points on the Earths surface linked together by segments and you obtain a geodesic sphere. Cut it in half and you get a geodesic dome, which you might have actually seen used in some dome building constructions.
The advantage is that the geodesic structure can provide both strength and a cool shape to an object. For vehicles, a geodesic construction will cut the necessity of using body panels to mask off the “skeleton”, thus greatly reducing the weight.
While not everyone will be happy with a car that’s made of rectangles and triangles, the design might catch on to electric or even hybrid vehicles and the EXO concept is here to point that out.
Mauro Fragiotta and Mark Beccaloni recently finished working on their EXO geodesic concept and no, it’s not a dome on wheels, but rather a small city car that looks like Batman’s shrunken Tumbler.
It’s polygonal, geodesic body makes for both the functional and aesthetic part, while power is assured by two electric motors - one in the front and one in the back. The battery pack has also been split between the two axles to better distribute the vehicle’s weight and all the mechanics are controlled by a computer based system, which organizes the efficiency and functions of every component.
The minimalistic design is used in the cockpit too, the car having three McLaren F1-style seats and a nice dashboard comprising some symmetrically arranged polygonal displays and a U-shaped steering “wheel”.
The EXO is currently in its project phase and all what we can get from the two talented designers are these renderings and a video to show the concept’s features. However, Mark and Mauro hope to see their project roll on the streets one day and they also kindly advise automakers to adapt the concept into their cars for a more ecologic and efficient future.
Now, since electric vehicles and hybrids need to be efficient with their juice, a good way to do that is to make them as lightweight as possible. And here comes the geodesic structure the EXO uses here.
The term “geodesic” is the equivalent of using straight lines to create curved spaces. It’s a term coming from “geodesy”, which is the science of measuring the size and shape of Earth. In its original sense, the geodesic is the shortest route between two points on the surface of the planet.
Now imagine an array of equally-positioned points on the Earths surface linked together by segments and you obtain a geodesic sphere. Cut it in half and you get a geodesic dome, which you might have actually seen used in some dome building constructions.
The advantage is that the geodesic structure can provide both strength and a cool shape to an object. For vehicles, a geodesic construction will cut the necessity of using body panels to mask off the “skeleton”, thus greatly reducing the weight.
While not everyone will be happy with a car that’s made of rectangles and triangles, the design might catch on to electric or even hybrid vehicles and the EXO concept is here to point that out.
Mauro Fragiotta and Mark Beccaloni recently finished working on their EXO geodesic concept and no, it’s not a dome on wheels, but rather a small city car that looks like Batman’s shrunken Tumbler.
It’s polygonal, geodesic body makes for both the functional and aesthetic part, while power is assured by two electric motors - one in the front and one in the back. The battery pack has also been split between the two axles to better distribute the vehicle’s weight and all the mechanics are controlled by a computer based system, which organizes the efficiency and functions of every component.
The minimalistic design is used in the cockpit too, the car having three McLaren F1-style seats and a nice dashboard comprising some symmetrically arranged polygonal displays and a U-shaped steering “wheel”.
The EXO is currently in its project phase and all what we can get from the two talented designers are these renderings and a video to show the concept’s features. However, Mark and Mauro hope to see their project roll on the streets one day and they also kindly advise automakers to adapt the concept into their cars for a more ecologic and efficient future.
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