DeltaWing renders wedge-shaped road car
DeltaWing has revealed a four-seat road car concept, which utilises the same design and engineering principles as its radical race cars.
Unlike the majority of street and race cars which have a front and rear track that are about the same width, DeltaWing's vehicles are extremely narrow at the front. Past the midway point the car broadens out to house the passenger cell, behind which the engine and transmission reside.
According to DeltaWing this design is not just aerodynamically efficient, it also shifts the car's weight bias rearward, which in turn helps to reduce rolling resistance. Crafted out of lightweight materials such as high tensile steel, aluminium and composites, the company's cars are claimed to be light, fast and efficient.
The target for the four-seat road going DeltaWing is to be 35 per cent lighter than its direct competition. This will mean that it's not only 35 per cent more fuel efficient, but also require 35 per cent less power.
DeltaWing estimates that if the car is paired with a four-cylinder engine with between 63kW and 82kW of power, it would deliver a 0-60mph (0-96km/h) sprint time of around 6.0 seconds, a top speed of about 210km/h and consume just 3.4L/100km.
Currently the company has no plans to build the DeltaWing road car, rather it is shopping the design and technology, as well as the company's engineering expertise, out to car makers.
The original DeltaWing racer made its debut at the 2012 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race. Back then it was partially funded by Nissan and powered by the Japanese manufacturer's 224kW 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine. Although the car crashed out of that year's race, subsequent versions have competed in races throughout the USA.
In 2013 DeltaWing sued Nissan over its BladeGlider concept car. Not only did the BladeGlider feature a prominent wedge shape, it was designed by Ben Bowlby, who designed the original DeltaWing race car and was hired by Nissan not long afterwards.
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