Extreme Machines Uncovered ... College for Creative Studies Students Unveil the 17th Annual Summer Automotive Design Models
DETROIT, Sept. 8 -- One look. You knew. This is how automotive inspiration evolves when design expectations have no limits. Forget the rules. These cars are meant to be driven to the extreme.
Top automotive designers, steel industry representatives, and CCS faculty members had their senses ignited as three College for Creative Studies (CCS) transportation design students unveiled their extreme automotive designs for the 17th annual American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) summer automotive design internship.
"Extreme Automotive" took control of the road as the theme for the AISI/CCS 2005 summer internship program. Drawing upon innovative steel technologies, Chris Piscitelli, Sylvian Bryan and Sang Hoon Shin took on the challenge to design a functional, innovative and extreme-inspired vehicle that integrates environmental responsibility, cost efficiency and advanced steel materials.
"Automotive design is important to today's car buyers," said Ron Krupitzer, senior director, Automotive Applications for AISI. "Consumers expect their cars to meet their individual needs, and governmental regulations for safety, fuel economy, recyclability and function, all while maintaining originality and uniqueness in appearance/design."
"The AISI/CCS internship tackles the challenges automakers encounter to design a vehicle that offers a lightweight steel structure and a flexible platform with attributes like affordability, fuel efficiency, and crashworthiness. The performance of vehicles today is being enhanced by the advances in steel. Today's designers recognize the flexibility steel has to offer."
Brian Aranaha, vice president of commercial for Dofasco Inc. and chairman of AISI's Automotive Applications Committee (AAC) added, "Sang, Sylvian and Chris represent the next generation of automotive designers who recognize that the steel is the material of choice."
The AISI/CCS 2005 Extreme Machines: Croise' = Crusader
Sang Hoon Shin of Detroit, Michigan, 21, is majoring in transportation design. Just like the ancient metal craftsmen of the Dark Ages, the legendary steel forging masters who crafted medieval knight armor, Sang found his inspiration in this art to design his highly modified machine.
"Inspired by plate armor from Medieval Europe, Croise' contains a heavy influence of plate armor designed to protect its owner and also integrate the art of steel forging -- specialized steel pieces, many with elaborate designs, to individualize and customize the armor."
"I decided to use the esthetics of armor, layering advanced high-strength steel blanks, to create a more aggressive styling design with an edgy appeal. I designed a car that follows the theme of plate armor, with the idea 'to protect its user.' The center peak, narrow window openings, overlapped pieces project an aggressive form, yet the undulated surfaces flow across the entire vehicle."
"My vehicle uses the new advance high strength steel with hydroformed frame structure. The hydroformed frame will reduce weight and cost of manufacturing by consolidation of components and accomplishing the same functionality with less material. Advanced high-strength steel provides a vehicle with safety without jeopardizing agility."
"Stamped steel with overlapped pieces adds strength, safety, and security of the vehicle and its occupants. Laser welded blanks are used to improve strength and rigidity at the outer body and door panels, helping to make the vehicle lightweight."
"This project gave me the opportunity to have larger undulated panels to create a form that looks more sculptural than simply manufactured, exploring the extreme shapes of steel."
Porsche XTT
Sylvian Bryan of Miami, Florida, 21, is a senior at the College for Creative Studies and majoring in Industrial Design with a concentration in Automotive Design. Attending the magnet school "Design and Architecture Senior High" in Miami, Florida, Sylvian was able to work with well-known designers and artists, such as Fernando and Humberto Campana and Edouard Duval Carrie. It was here that Sylvian had the opportunity to explore architecture, graphic design, animation, fashion and discover his fascination for industrial design.
"I reached beyond a car being a mode of transportation and into a vehicle designed to resolve several societal issues in the year 2050 -- a vehicle that utilizes a material that provides affordability, safety, fuel efficiency, lightweight and environmental responsibility. And steel meets those requirements for Generation X's car enthusiast."
"Based on the Porsche Carrera GT platform, this is a car with amazing real-life capabilities. The car symbolizes form, function and a technologically advanced innovation. It is an extension of Generation X's personality, social trends and way of life."
"This generation marks a return to a balanced lifestyle: happiness in life through a healthy commitment to outside interests, including a rich family and social life. My vehicle meets Generation X's lifestyle demands in an extreme style."
"Hydrogen tanks are stored in the cross-like console design of the interior, on top of each other, to enhance the protection of the tanks just like the occupants who are protected by a cage of advanced high strength steel. This steel creates an impenetrable barrier protecting the driver, passengers and hydrogen tanks in the event of a crash."
"Through the ductility of high strength steel, I am able to use this formability to achieve the shapes in my designs. The smooth contours and lack of sharp edges provide an architecture of pedestrian safety -- a principle being employed today by automakers."
"Because of the formability advantages of advanced high-strength steel, this enhanced car of the future is an aerodynamic marvel."
Acrua Ronin
Chris Piscitelli of Green Brook, New Jersey, 23, a junior at the College for Creative Studies (CCS), brings a unique perspective to the American Iron and Steel Institute internship program. As graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Chris holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in industrial (product) design education. It was during a junior semester exchange program at CCS that Chris discovered he could follow his passion for car design after graduation from RSID.
"I chose speed as my extreme and designed a car using steels in the application of structure and body panels, which break the notion that steel is a heavy structural element in a vehicle. The armor of the ancient samurai was my influence because it represented what I was looking for from steel."
"The makers of the armor focused on detail, and extreme protection, yet did not weigh down the samurai or affect his ability to move and perform with accuracy, speed and agility."
"Since this is to be a speed-oriented car. I looked to F-1 cars for formal inspiration. The large air intakes and the general shape of the body create the aerodynamic properties of a formula racecar. The adjustable windscreen, suspended air foil, and wrap-around gauges allow the driver to feel like he is engaged in the spirit of racing, even if he is not at the track."
"To keep the car lightweight, but structurally sound, it has a dual-phase hydroformed steel space frame. The exterior panels will utilize dual phase 490 grade, because of it's the steel's ability to form complex shapes while providing the performance and mass reduction needed for extreme speed."
"The piece that runs the center length of the car serves as a graphic feature, but is also a structural crumple zone, both front and rear."
"Driver safety is a main concern of this car, and since it is an open vehicle with no structural A- pillar or roof, I have designed a roll bar that extends to give extra head protection. In the event of a roll over, the sensor would pick up that the angle of the car is over a certain degree, and the roll bar would hydraulically push up and lock."
"Steel is used in the wheels. To save weight in the outer rim would be spin-formed high-strength steel, while the inner wheel would be a dual-phase stamping with its high-strength and high-ductility enabling light mass and styling flexibility. This would be a low-cost the process."
The College for Creative Studies is one of the nation's leading arts education institutions. A private, fully accredited, four-year college, CCS offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in art education, animation and digital media, communication design, crafts, fine arts, illustration, industrial design, interior design and photography. The College also offers non-credit courses in the visual arts through its Community Arts Partnerships continuing and community education program. CCS is located in Detroit's Cultural Center, where it provides a challenging learning environment in which students explore issues of art and design while preparing for careers in the professional world.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 31 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 118 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. AISI's member companies represent approximately 75 percent of both U.S. and North American steel capacity.
The Automotive Applications Committee (AAC) is a subcommittee of the Market Development Committee of AISI and focuses on advancing the use of steel in the highly competitive automotive market. With offices and staff located in Detroit, cooperation between the automobile and steel industries has been key to its success. This industry cooperation resulted in the formation of the Auto/Steel Partnership, a consortium of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation and the member companies of the AAC. For more news or information, view the American Iron and Steel Institute /Automotive Applications Committee's website at http://www.autosteel.org/.
American Iron and Steel Institute/ Automotive Applications Committee: - AK Steel Corporation - Dofasco Inc. - Mittal Steel USA - Nucor Corporation - Severstal North America Inc. - Stelco Inc. - United States Steel Corporation
