Students in the FAST lane!
YOUNG ENGINEERS LOOK TO DEVELOP HIGH PERFORMANCE SPORTS CAR AT UNIVERSITY
COVENTRY University could launch its own high performance sports car as part of an ambitious programme to encourage more low volume car production in the city and beyond.
A new design concept, pioneered at the university’s National Transport Design Centre (NTDC), could make it into production as well as provide a platform others could use. The Sparrowhawk Project aims to revolutionise the way vehicles, such as niche sports cars, electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles are made.
It has seen the creation of a new car platform, which will massively reduce the initial outlay required for niche vehicle production, enabling cars to be developed at a fraction of their current cost.
However, the university is also looking at using the platform to launch its own high performance sports car and could do so as early as 2019. Two drivetrains are being developed – one based on a proven 2.0 litre petrol eco-boost engine developed by Ford and the other a full EV version. Mike Dickison, associate Dean at Coventry University’s Faculty of Engineering, said: “While we are now in the final stages of vehicle concept development, we think there’s a big market out there for car enthusiasts who want to create a vehicle that suits their exact needs, without spending a fortune. “It’s still early days, but we’re confident of launching the Sparrowhawk in early 2019.” The Sparrowhawk Project has harnessed the creative skills of the university’s acclaimed vehicle design and engineering departments, bringing together a team of over 50 young engineers to develop a unique concept in car design, to create a highly efficient production platform. With car makers needing to make tomorrow’s vehicles 100 per cent recyclable – as well as safe, efficient and cost-effective – the team at the NTDC has created an eco-friendly aluminium chassis structure that can carry any combination of unstressed body panels.
Adopting the Sparrowhawk platform would help many niche manufacturers, who once proliferated in Coventry in the early days of the automotive industry, to overcome these challenges.
Mr Dickison said: “With electric and autonomous vehicles set to play a key role in the UK’s industrial strategy, our Sparrowhawk concept is ideally placed to help niche OEMs lower production costs.
“While Sparrowhawk began life as a project that was designed to encourage cross-discipline teamwork as well as the importance of cost control, it’s been so successful that we’re now looking to commercialise the idea. “
The NTDC is a state-of-the-art facility, operating within Coventry University’s existing Centre for Mobility and Transport.
Formally opening this month, it is a multi-million-pound investment with a £7 million contribution from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and the government’s Local Growth Deal.
It’s still early days but we’re confident of launching the Sparrowhawk in early 2019. Mike Dickison Faculty of Engineering