November 18, 2008

2006 - The Far Star


"It was not the size that was impressive - for it was rather small. It was designed for maneuverability and speed, for totally gravitic engines, and most of all for advanced computerization. It didn't need size-size would have defeated its purpose. It was a one-man device that could replace, with advantage, the older ships that required a crew of a dozen or more. With a second or even a third person to establish shifts of duty, one such ship could fight off a flotilla of much larger non-Foundation ships. In addition, it could outspeed and escape from any other ship in existence. There was a sleekness about it - not a wasted line, not a superfluous curve inside or out. Every cubic meter of volume was used to its maximum, so as to leave a paradoxical aura of spaciousness within. Nothing the Mayor might have said about the importance of his mission could have impressed Trevize more than the ship with which he was asked to perform it."
in Foundation's Edge, Isaac Asimov


Theme: Science Fiction


Inspired by Isaac Asimov's spaceship, piloted by Golan Trevize in a mission for to find planet Earth, lost in a galaxy full of inhabited planets for thousands of years, the design of the Far Star - named after the Foundation's ground-breaking spaceship - is the result os a search for less orthodox shapes, precisely because of the context of this Design exercise with a theme in the realm of Science Fiction.
Angular lines define the shape of a body divided in two main materials - plastic in the lower section and metal in the upper section, making the Far Star lookagressive and elegant at the same time.

The drivetrain is also unconventional - three wheels with rear wheel drive - and is a conceptual basis for the whole body as well. Consequently, the Far Star has a long and narrow front and a powerful rear, balanced by the two front wheel volumes.







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