Raijū – Electric hyper sport car concept for W Motors

Sports cars are generally known for their engine sound, unique to the brand, and as the automotive world is transitioning to electric driven motors, there is a huge race to design and develop a new voice to represent these vehicles.

Enter the Raijū, an electric hybrid hyper sport car aimed at capturing W Motors’ passion for speed, luxury and exclusivity.  The concept makes use of both a powerful battery pack and a compressed air V8 engine in the back, equipped with two air tanks.  Essentially, clean energy with a voice.  This car takes urban mobility and the enjoyment of the long road in consideration.  When the white carbon fibre shell is taken off, this car is the light vehicle to get from point A to B, while charging wireless in the city.  Once a longer range is needed, the white cover with an extra battery pack inside, can power the air compressors and so Raijū’s V8 engine.

What started out as a simple personal project with clay modelling turned into some serious research.  From drive trains to engines to renewable energy sources.   Taking inspiration from W Motors’ design language and re-imagining it with a more organic, yet simple and still elegant approach, the form study also draws from human aesthetics and subtlety.Following W Motors’ tradition of using mythical wolf names for their cars, Raijū refers to a Japanese legend: a wolf wrapped in lightning.

For inspiration and understanding of light and aerodynamic designed vehicles, I looked at Formula 1 cars in order to imagine what the car underneath the car would look like.  Sketches show what the car would look like when driving in the city and the extra stored energy and weight is not needed.

After a thorough form study, functions and package figured out, a 1:4 clay model was shaped and painted to have a physical model of the concept to further study proportions and design.

For the full experience and teaser video, feel free to check my Behance profile or Instagram page