With the introduction of the new Hypercar class, Le Mans has attracted a range of automakers to the sport of endurance racing. Italy’s Camal Stile decided to show off what it could achieve with the class’s proportions, creating the TEST/1 concept. Although it has decided to use the Le Mans Hypercar proportions as a launch point, it hasn’t been confined by the series’ rules, which mandate that race teams use a hybrid powertrain that is limited to 670 hp.
Instead, Camal Stile has opted for a jet
engine that is “of aeronautical derivation.” Theoretically powered by a
kerosene and based on the turbojet principal, the design team estimates that
the engine could produce up to 5,000 hp. Thanks to a
coefficient of drag of 0.20, the team predicts that the TEST/1 could achieve a
top speed of 450 km/h. That’s not the only impact that the jet engine
has on the concept car. Although Camal Stile says that the car is based on
Hypercar proportions, it is inspired by the Fiat Turbina, a test vehicle
produced by the Italian automaker in 1954.
It featured the swoopy styling of the era,
and its somewhat more modest jet engine could generate a still impressive for
the era 295 hp. More than half a century ago, that was enough
to achieve a top speed of 250 km/h. While the Fiat Turbina is an
undeniably lovely car, this outside observer sees more of the turbine-powered
Chaparral 2J in the TEST/1. Both share a very pointy front end, a wedge-shaped profile,
and a back end that stops suddenly.
Whatever the inspiration, Camal Stile says
that has embraced “sculptural lines and monolithic volumes” in the creation of
this design exercise. It also wanted to intersperse the car with clean lines
and exposed mechanics. The driver and the jet engine are enclosed in a
rocket-shaped cabin. Drivers are given a broad view out of the car thanks to an
exposed glass cockpit. Meanwhile, for those looking in, the glass gives a view
of the chassis, designed using additive technology, and a halo at the top
provides motorsports-inspired rollover protection.
Camal Stile describes the TEST/1 as a
“stylistic laboratory” used solely for design experimentation, allowing them to
explore new ideas that may be implemented in their future car designs.
