A Michelin Design Challenge Ride Was Branded Tesla, Meant for Future Le Mans

That’s exactly what we see here. This vehicle and all its color variations are known as the Tesla LMPE 2030. It is a conceptual design from Belgium-based Fabian Brees and Jeroen Claus, two industrial design directors with a vision of a future in which Tesla attends Le Mans.

Well, we’ve seen other Le Mans concepts over time, so what makes this one so different? Mainly the fact that there is no ability for the pilot to see outside the vehicle. All driving is done from inside an enclosed cockpit. We’ll get into how shortly.

Now, you know we wouldn’t be wasting your time with just some mediocre design with no functionality. That’s what these concepts are all about, showing us some possible form and functionality towards which we can strive, even if only in our dreams. So let’s see what the boys put together for us.

The body isn’t very different from other supercars we’ve been exposed to, but being destined for Le Mans, this design does feature some signature details. We can take the large spoiler on the back and the lifted wheel wells that lead into the body lines as some of the indicating marks of Le Mans racers. About the front end, there's no need to even mention the racing spirit of the car.

Being a Tesla-branded design, you can be sure it’s an EV. With that also comes a number of theoretical technologies. One of which is the recharge function for the car. Being meant for Le Mans, there is a need to recharge the batteries. But to do so this vehicle is imagined with a special recharge lane which needs to be built into the circuit. Yeah it sounds nice and all. But wireless recharging while driving? That’s a pretty bold goal for 2030.

The next piece of tech we find on the car is similar to already existing tech. The wheels. Each wheel includes its own personal motor which powers it. Meaning not only one motor is available like in regular cars, but four. More like the EV platforms that we see lately. Each wheel also includes a casing composed of hemp fiber and a fully composite disk brake. Being a Michelin Design Challenge vehicle, we don’t even need to tell you what brand of rubber we’ll find, all of them set on a magnesium alloy rims.

And as promised, how the heck do the drivers see out of the windshield? Well, they don’t. The entire windshield is composed of a smart glass which will display the outside world to the driver via the digitally capable glass. How? Through several cameras and sensors distributed throughout the vehicle. Now the benefit of this is huge. Imagine seeing your vehicles stats at all times, or saying a command and a little screen showing you the desired info. But, and this is big but, what do we do when one component or another of that system fails, and you’re hitting a turn at 95 mph (152 kph)? What then?

Nonetheless, this concept is a nice view into the possibilities our future may bring. Even though it may seem scary at times, I think we’ll have all the bugs figured out by then.