The latest creation by Saleen is the S281, a sport car based on the 2005 Ford Mustang model.
Its design development is a mix of traditional and innovative technologies: from pen sketches to reverse engineering and CAD-CAM processes.
1. Concept Sketches
The S281 style features the prestigious signature of Phil Frank, the designer who created the Saleen S7 supercar.
During the first phases of the development process, Phil worked in his studio with pen and paper annotating his ideas about the exterior style of the vehicle. The design exploration investigated not only the general shapes and geometries, but also many constructive details of the final body elements.
 Two alternative solutions for the rear headlights: twin circular lamps (on the left) or blade lamps (on the right). Tha latter was Phil's favorite one.
This process can be described with Phil's own words:
"My first sketch of the rear is basically where we ended up, though as in most designs you tend to go full circle, exploring other directions then finally realizing your initial thoughts were the right ones.
"The front however took some more time to get my head around, as the strong signature of the Mustang was hard to move away from, though I had my ideas".
"My sketches are not extensive as I could see most of what I wanted to do with the car in my mind and I was able to communicate these ideas directly to Steve Saleen though discussions, hand waving and general design speak."
"The most interesting sketches are the working drawings that show the thought process for linking all the elements together"
|
|
After the initial sketches he switched to Photoshop to evaluate different styles with digital renderings and retouched photos.
|
|
The front sketches show initial directions that were shot down due to cost and crash test issues.
|
The rear sketches are basically the same with some lighting explorations.
Phil Frank's favorite version was the one with blade lamps
|
Once the general design direction was set, he went down to Saleen’s California facility to mock up his ideas on a real '05 Mustang. This was done by using some shaped cardboard and applying it on the car: this was a fast and simple way to evaluate a natural scale model.
"It’s amazing what you can do and learn with cardboard"
Phil Frank
|
|
| Important annotations were made directly on Photoshop by typing and sketching above the photos of the physical model. This helped to visualize the final shape and style of the real car. |
|
|
