Caravaggio "Supercoupe"
10-23-2012, 11:21 PM
#105
Drifting
10-24-2012, 12:44 PM
#109
Safety Car
Well I thought I would share some photos of a car that we have been working on for a while. It started with a concept drawing and a 2005 Corvette convertible. The idea was to take the Corvette to the next level as far as design. The idea was shown to several designers in the Automotive world and needless to say they all thought it was a great idea. So began the journey, it was an even bigger undertaking then we thought. The idea was to change the roof line on the car and leave the rest of it alone.
I also like the artists rendition of the rear bumper where the licence plate cavity has been revised. Did Owens have a hand in the 3D sculpture also? Would be nice to show a little duck tail on the rear bumper like the 68. I enjoy the C6 as much as the C2 and C3.
Can you describe the roof structure particularly in the A pillar and windshield support area? Since the coupe B pillar hoop is not in place, because you have a convertible, you may run into some structural problems. I have not been able to find stiffness numbers for C6s chassis to date but I wonder if you addressed chassis rigidity in your design? The coupe and the convertible have the same chassis, but the roof on the coupe is no ordinary roof.
The aluminum chassis has better torsional properties than the steel chassis but it is poor in bending, especially with that long wheel base. You may be considering this kit on a Z06 chassis or even the stock coupe to broaden your market.
Corner to corner load transfer is not all that important on the C5 and C6 chassis design because of the large mass centroids at each end of the car. Each tire is loaded nicely in lateral acceleration because of this and the chassis flex may play a part in the C6's excellent manors.
My concerns are structural never the less. You may need composite materials other than fiberglass, or even steel reinforcement or at least a 'fusible' link between the roof and the windshield frame. This is major engineering. Weather seal leakage, windshield fracture and roof cracking are thoughts that come to mind. You can't stress most composites especially fiberglass.
If you jack up the steel or aluminum chassis in the designated load points, you will see the door gap widen at the front and back of the door. The aluminum chassis is worse even with it's fancy roof. Corvette engineers had a devil of a time making things work on the Z06 roof where they gained a 12% stiffness improvement at great expense.
If you park with one wheel off the plane of the other 3, you can feel binding on the door and the roof can't be removed or replaced on the stock car. The convertible roof locks bind also in this condition. Will your roof take this load? For body panel work, the car must be jacked on the sub frames.
The Z06 has a unique chassis which can't be placed into any known category. It is a work of art and expect an improvement in the C7 and C8 but not a replacement, it is that good.
I caution you to employ someone who is conversant with auto structural chassis engineering at this stage. It may save you expensive head aches down the road.
I built a fully certified roadster once. I had to leave the doors off to meet my design objectives of weight and rigidity. I'm not suggesting that you do the same.
The C7 appears to have an air intake at the 1/4 window. Your drawing shows the glass flush but the actual car does not. This could become an intake, just saying. Don't know what the intake would be for though. Nice work.
11-05-2012, 08:13 PM
#116
Team Owner
This may end up being the best looking C6 ever...
11-06-2012, 07:16 AM
#118
Le Mans Master
11-06-2012, 08:33 AM
#119
Drifting
11-06-2012, 08:50 AM
#120
