Showcase: The Corvette Wyvern
Have you noticed that whenever car companies start to feel insecure, they design a speedster? Last year, three of the best released the latest and greatest supercars: the Astin Martin V12, the McLerren Elva, and the Ferrari Manza. These cars are mobile sculptures; they have no cup holders, no Apple Play systems, and no backseats. They represent the purest form of car enthusiasm -- you just drive.
We love that about speedsters. We love it so much, in fact, that we designed our own speedster for Corvette, based on their 2017 C7. We call it the Wyvern.
Our studio is composed of self-described gearheads with plenty of experience designing for aviation, which makes us particularly well-positioned to design a vehicle like the Wyvern. Inspired by the same aerodynamics, sculpting, and composite materials used in jet planes, we created a powerful yet efficient speedster.
We designed the Wyvern for racers. Like the racecars of the (in)famous Can-Am series, the Wyvern offers a visceral driving experience: the loud, open cockpit with the exhaust screaming into your right ear, the G-forces driving you into your seat as you take each corner, the wind trying to tear your head off -- you know, real racing stuff.
Also like the cars of the Can-Am series, we wanted to show as much of the rear tires as possible. And we gave the car a speed-tail for aerodynamics and styling. We wanted the person driving the Wyvern to feel like Lewis Hamilton in his Formula One car.
We made the engine visible beneath the hood, because everyone on the racetrack will want to see it. We also added four exhaust ports beside the cockpit that are designed to spit flames -- just for the hell of it.
As the combustion engine becomes less relevant to car production (likely sooner than SEMA is willing to admit) what will remain for the car enthusiast? We believe the answer is style and performance.
Top speeds and break-neck acceleration might make cool Youtube videos, but those things don’t matter for a person who actually wants to enjoy driving their car on a track. Whether it was an electric or combustion engine, the Wyvern would deliver bespoke style and a smooth, fast ride. Though we’d have to lose the flames if it was electric. Cause, you know…explosions