AV Design
Forte
The 2007 AV
Design Forte from third year Coventry Transport Design student Andrew Varnish
was a concept sports coupe inspired by the character of the Auburn, Cord and
Duesenberg luxury sports cars of the 1930's.
The Forte is
a carbon fibre bodied, front-mid engined urban sports car powered by a
bio-fueled V8 engine mated to a 6-speed manual, or 5-speed automatic
transmission driving the rear wheels. Access to the engine compartment is easy
thanks to an aluminium bonnet hinged on both sides and opened from the left or
right.
Helping to
keep the Forte's engine cool are hidden air vents underneath the protruding
front arches which also hide the slit-like LED headlights. Hot air in the
engine bay is then extracted by ducted electric fans blowing out either side
just forward of the doors. The exhaust is a center-exit titanium unit set into
the smooth underbody.
In order to
keep the 20 inch rims wrapped with low profile whitewall tires in close
proximity to the wheel arches, the top section of the front arches move in
conjunction with the front suspension, although dampers help keep the movement
fluid.
Innovative
features can be found all over the car. Set into the nose of the Forte on
either side are small color video cameras which, at the flick of a switch,
relay footage to a screen in the dash to help the Forte's driver at low
visibility junctions and exiting driveways. A photo sensitive roof adjusts its
opacity depending on the amount of direct sunlight to help keep the cabin cool.
The rear brake lights
illuminate in a circular fashion, starting from the top towards the center and
rapidly running out along the top and then back in along the bottom.
The AV Design
Forte is a concept car which is just that, a concept, designed to promote
interesting ideas and alternative design styles as well as exploring a new
market segment, the urban sports car. There is currently no plan to put the car
into production however limited.
