Reader provides Photoshop rendering of what production Volt might look like
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM, Green Daily
Over at the Petrozero.org web-site, reader Scott has put his Photoshop skills to work creating a rendering of what the production Chevy Volt might look like. Working from one of the original images of the concept, the shots of the taped up wind tunnel model and what we've been previously told, Scott went to work. You can see the final product as the lower image above which is clearly recognizable as a Volt. Notice that the front axle center line has moved backward relative to the nose of the car and the front door cut line. The nose is now more rounded and less blunt than the concept. This is necessary to clean up the airflow around the front of the car and meet European pedestrian protection standards. The roof line, as expected, is higher and the base of the windshield is further forward with more rake, again for improved aerodynamics. The one area where the final car will likely diverge the most from this rendering is the curved side glass at the top of the doors. This will almost certainly (although I could be wrong) go away. The extra complexity of manufacturing the doors this way and the distorted visibility would likely kill that design element. Instead, judging from the wind tunnel model, the bottom edge of the side glass will probably be slightly lower than shown hear and the doors themselves will probably be solid.
[Source: PetroZero.org, thanks to Scott for the tip]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-08-2008 @ 11:37AM
rar said...
It is not as cool as the concept, but it would work for me.
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4-08-2008 @ 11:51AM
kt said...
That's some good photoshop work, I didn't even notice they had changed the windshield and the front wheel placement until I read the article.
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4-08-2008 @ 1:42PM
mrbell321 said...
Not as "radical" as the concept, but productions never are. That said, aside from moving the front axle back, I'd say that's an improvement. The original angular nose has always bugged me.
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4-08-2008 @ 2:02PM
Tim said...
Yep. Keeps getting better.
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4-08-2008 @ 2:53PM
Rick said...
Looks like the Sky. And that windshield starting mid hood looks really strange.
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4-08-2008 @ 3:36PM
ug said...
This simulation is still off. Based on the wind test model, the wheel wells and wheels of the production Volt should look smaller.
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4-08-2008 @ 10:28PM
Kevin Nugent said...
still don't necessarily like the fact that they are remodeling it but what ev . I will customize mine to look like the original concept lol. Despite decrease in fuel efficiency ( you pick up more girls)lol. Good photo shop work though
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4-09-2008 @ 8:58AM
Das Boese said...
The part about "European pedestrian protection standards" seems a bit far out. IMO it's not very likely that the Volt will be sold here. We'll probably get something closer to the Opel Flextreme.
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4-09-2008 @ 9:45AM
BillC said...
If you extend the rear end, it looks a lot like the Pontiac G6 that I was parked next to this morning.
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4-09-2008 @ 6:31PM
Wise Golden said...
My $0.02…the car looks good. I think that it will be sold in Europe as well as other places. GM markets the Corvette as a brand and sells it in more countries than any other car in the world (but in small numbers in each country.) I’m thinking they may market the Volt throughout the world through the Corvette distributors, and in the United States and other countries where Chevy is a top brand (of which there are many), through Chevrolet.
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4-10-2008 @ 7:46AM
Bill said...
Wheels are too big - large wheels negatively impact ful economy.
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4-10-2008 @ 3:37PM
Chris M said...
The fender flares were eliminated to reduce drag, as the scale model in the wind tunnel showed. But they still appear in the photoshopped image above.
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