The basics of car design

This page attempts to explain a few of the essential rules of

vehicle design. You may be thinking that there are no rules, surely
every designer is allowed to do whatever they like? Well obviously
that is true, but cars have to adhere to laws and type approval
regulations, which gives certain constraints. That still leaves room
for a large amount of artistic expression. What Im talking about
here are mainly common aesthetic practices and traditions- which
are complex (enough to perhaps be re-visited many times here).
These aesthetic tastes vary across national cultures, but as cars are
sold globally (or more accurately, brands are), and most certainly
designed by globally influenced people, these cultural tastes are
often purposely discarded in the design process. There are also
constraints that are forced by economics, and manufacturing
processes. All these change over time, or occasionally shift more
radically, but cultural aesthetic taste is by far the slowest of these
to evolve and therefore more timeless and consistent. As you may
have noticed, most cars, even across eras, look very much alike as a
result of these principles.

let us begin
Restrictions of three dimensional form can be applied due to the
majority of cars being manufactured from the same material, while
using the same propulsion system. 99% of production cars are
manufactured from steel (or at least metal!), with plastic

accessories, and glass windows, and are powered by internal

combustion engines that burn an oil based fuel. Sheet steel is not
easy to manipulate into shape. Car panels are stamped by enormous
presses from very thin (around 1mm!), flexible sheet metal, and
strength comes from curvature. As a result you will never find a
completely flat surface on any car! Almost all these metal cars are
welded together from these sections or panels of steel, creating
joins we call panel gaps.

all

surfaces are curved

The first principle to follow is that of curvature. No matter how

subtle the curve, every single surface on any car is curved. To keep
design and manufacturing simple, cars tend to concentrate curvature
in one direction. Most of the form is horizontal to the ground. 21st
century car design is certainly changing this simplicity though, with
many new vehicles such as BMWs ground breaking designs showing
complex interactions of differing curvature.

the

shoulder

the shoulder
Using this simple example we can see what is called the shoulder of
the car, or otherwise known as thecatwalk. All cars have this form,
varying from being barely visible, to being the dominant feature of
the car (Audi TT). The shoulder can rise or fall (BMW Z4), but is
generally almost perfectly horizontal along the length of the car.
The best view is from the front. This straight horizontal shoulder is
present along the door of nearly all cars.
The yellow line is a basic outline that can be applied to all cars. The
width of the shoulder will vary, but the principle that the widest
part of the car is along the center, between the wheels, rarely
varies. The curve of the shoulder decides where the light and
shadow divide along the car. Sometimes this point can be
exaggerated by a sharp edge, or even a crease, as on the BMW 3
series. The top half in front view is also extremely similar on every
car. The angle of the side windows is known as tumblehome and is
always angled in from vertical apart from very rare exceptions (eg.
Fiat Multipla). The side glass is not curved from the front view. The

roof also follows the principles of never being flat, and is usually
curved in both directions for maximum strength.

plan shape

plan shape
Nearly all cars will have curvature in plan view. Aerodynamics are the
main reason for this, along with styling issues involved in hiding front
or rear overhangs. The main area for curvature in the plan view is
the glasshouse, the top half of the vehicle shape, where the windows
are. The glass on cars is only ever single curvature. This is due to the
lens effect of double curvature glass! The yellow lines show the
usual shape of the glasshouse, tapering to the rear.
There are also some regulations governing the windscreen angle,
which must never be less than 30degrees from horizontal. Plan view
curvature can vary a lot on the bodywork of cars, with larger cars
often showing much more shape than smaller ones. Large front and
rear overhangs (overhang is literally how much the bodywork hangs

over the front or rear axle line) are hidden by rounding the corners
of the car in plan view.

wedge

wedge
The side view shows how the screen has no curvature from top to
bottom. Also we can see how the main shoulder line of the car is
horizontal, with a slight angle to the upper part of the bodywork.
This slight angle is known as wedge, and is also a matter of
aerodynamics.
Also note the slight wheel arch lip. This is nearly always present to
finish the edge of the metal panel neatly. Some cars have large
wheel arch shapes. Traditionally these blend into the body smoothly,
but a more modern trend is to emphasize the join (Opel Astra, Ford
Focus).

packaging
Probably one of the most restrictive aspects of vehicle design is
known as packaging. This is simply the way that a designer must fit
all the components that make up a car, inside specified dimensions.

The largest and most important objects to be packaged are the

occupants, and the engine. These two components completely dictate
the overall dimensions and proportions of every car. Vehicles involve
some of the most complicated packaging problems of any product, as
there are so many components, and endless safety considerations to
integrate. Modern technology means that engines and other
components are getting smaller, creating more space for occupants
through innovative solutions (Mercedes A-Class), but traditionally
there are still only four main ways of packaging a vehicle. The
diagram shows these solutions, using the basic components of engine,
transmission, cooling radiator (grey) and driver (red). It should be
clear how these components affect the overall silhouette of the car.
The position of the driver and glasshouse also dictate the position of
the doors, which are not shown. All the cars have front mounted
radiators, which need an aperture to feed air into them, but
additional venting is usually needed around the engine. This results in
apertures in varying positions, so it is important to always consider
the internal architecture of the vehicle.

common vehicle layouts

Most of these examples are 2 seat cars, but it should be clear that
the number of seats in a vehicle will have a major effect on the size
and shape. For example, the diagram of a front wheel drive car could
present a different silhouette if only 2 seats were considered. Also
a mid engine vehicle can sometimes have a radiator mounted beside
the engine. This will remove the need for an aperture at the front
for the radiator, and increase the size of the apertures along the
side of the car (Lamborghini Diablo).
Another aspect of packaging is the fuel tank. This is subject to
regulations, and must me located within the wheelbase. It is usually
behind the driver, even on the mid engine design. The location will
dictate the placement of the filler nozzle. A rear engine design is
the only exception, where sometimes the filler nozzle is located in
the front wing of the car (Porsche 911)

wheels

These are another major component to package into a car, as they

not only have to move up and down, the front wheels must also turn.
All car wheels are roughly the same overall diameter of no more than
600mm, or 300mm radius. The proportion of the wheel to tyre is the
part that will vary, along with the width. Race cars will sometimes
have larger diameter wheels, but only at the rear. A key difference
between road and race cars are the number of wheel nuts. 4 or 5 for
road cars, but usually only one on a race car.

rules & regulations

There are almost unlimited rules and regulations involved in vehicle
design. Each market has Type Approval regulations that need to be
met by all vehicles. The regulations cover every aspect from the
weight, safety, standard equipment required (lights, horn etc.), to
detail design such as door handles, and interior fittings. Heres an
example concerning projections from the car body:
18 External projections 1. The vehicle shall not be fitted with any
mascot, emblem or other ornamental object unless it complies with
the requirements of regulation 62 of the Construction and Use
Regulations.
2. The radius of curvature of all hard parts on or protruding from
the external surface of the vehicle and which can be contacted by a
sphere of 100 mm diameter, shall be not less than 2.5 mm.
3. Headlamp visors and rims shall not project more than 30 mm
beyond the lens surface.

4. The ends of bumpers shall be turned inwards or recessed or

integrated within the bodywork.
5. Handles, hinges, push buttons and fuel tank filler caps shall not
project more than 40 mm from the external surface unless they
cannot under any circumstance project beyond the extreme outer
edge of the vehicle, in which case they may project by up to 50 mm
from the external surface. All handles shall be enclosed in a
protective surround or be recessed, unless they cannot in any
circumstances project beyond the extreme outer edge of the
vehicle.
The result of all this is that positions of major items, such as
headlights become very uniform across all car designs. Front and
Rear lights are a good example, as they have to be at least 400mm
from the centre line of the car on either side. This means there are
usually 2 and they are usually a similar distance apart!