THE REVIEWS
ELEQ E-TEKNIQ - @ChilPollins
Proportions
Wow, I say. Starting from the side view, it looks remarkably long and slender. Especially when you take into account that itâs an EV, it looks almost unfathomably low (I would have expected bulkier and taller sills to fit the batteries). Putting aside production concerns, it looks fantastic. The long hood and defined trunk remind me of more traditionally beautiful coupes. Moving to the front, again I see a lot of 60s Americana in it. Since itâs relatively simple, I donât have much to comment on in this section. I will say, however, that the way the white splitter is treated is masterful. Both at the front and rear, the white bar changes in thickness to help even out the visual height (dropping down at the front, and raising at the back).
The rear is very much the same case as the front, only physically taller.
Surfacing
Itâs relatively inobtrusive. This isnât to be taken as critique, though. Try harder and youâll find plenty of light catchers and needle-thin extrusions, but they work. The treatment of the surfaces is so flawless that you can hardly imagine the body being used to design anything else. The design is so wonderfully executed that it almost disappears in front of you. You really have to try to notice all the intricacies, and thatâs extremely hard to do. I particularly like the indentations around the upper fascia and the subtly flared wheel arches.
Detailing/Bauhaus
Unusually, Iâd like to start with the wheels. One of the core principles of Bauhaus is the utilization of raw materials, and, apart from being very chunky and simple in design, the rims are covered in an anisotropic metal finish, which looks very nice. The front end consists of mostly primitive shapes, but again, it works. Even the brightly colored and somewhat intrusive indicator housings look nice and add a sense of purpose and function-over-form to the design. On the side, the floating roof and brightwork on the rocker panels are uniqueâdefinitely a nice change from blacking stuff outâand yet they accomplish the exact same task. Again, the rear is basically a CitroĂ«n Ami situation, where the rear mirrors the front almost verbatim. If I had any gripes with the design of the car, it would be that. Overall, though, I am thoroughly impressed.
ARC ESL420 - @the-chowi
Proportions
Definitely a more contemporary approach. The taller side profile, raked hood, and sloping fastback body shape mirror a new-age, traditionally efficient design. I think nothing stands out to me, apart from the fact that it looks a bit too tall. The chassis has a 3-meter wheelbase, and the rims are 24 inches in diameter, yet it looks like a compact. My question is: why so tall? Itâs not a full EVâyou donât need the underbody space to fit batteries. The front upper fascia is, in my opinion, slightly too high up on the car, making it look a little awkward; however, the rear fascia is fine. I appreciate the attempt to make it look longer by extending the C-pillar further back to increase the visual length, but unfortunately, it just wasnât enough.
Surfacing
The surfacing follows Bauhaus principles, and for the most part, looks pretty nice. I do have one complaint, though: the dissonance between sharp and dull molding and surface highlighting can be jarring at times. Take, for example, the rear diffuser and rocker panels. The rear diffuser has literally no rounding in its edgesâitâs just an angle at a pointâwhile the rocker panels are very smooth and have no sharp angles whatsoever.
Detailing/Bauhaus
Unfortunately, there isnât much actual detail going on. The car looks nice from a distance, but thereâs nothing to keep you looking up close. I like the air curtain intakes on the front grille, as well as the subtle splash of body color on the rear diffuser, but thatâs about it. The interior is very nice and incorporates video cameras for mirrors, but unfortunately, interiors arenât being judged this round. Thatâs pretty much all I can say. The design definitely adheres to Bauhaus principles, but it loses some of its charm up close.
TRUFFLE MOTORS H-ME⎠- @PhirmEggplant
Proportions
Itâs very cab-forward, thatâs for sure. So cab-forward, in fact, that I considered eliminating it from the competition because of how much it resembles a mid/rear-engined car. Nevertheless, I am assured that itâs a front-engined design, so weâll press on. The side profile reminds me of a 90s supercar with its short, low hood and roofline that tapers off relatively quickly at the back. As for the front, Iâm puzzled as to why everything except the grille is so low down. It somewhat feels like a satirical attempt to emulate the clichĂ©s of modern car design, seemingly spearheaded by nothing but r/carsâ opinions on âwhatâs gone wrong with modern cars.â The grille is big and, although some other entrants have a big grille, this one is completely disproportionate to the rest of the front design. By that I mean, thereâs nothing to balance out the gaping hole in the middle of the car. The same goes for the rear, although I feel like your idea of blending round headlights with a more angular shape could be executed much better if you tried.
Surfacing
There isnât much of it, this time for real. I do appreciate the attempts to add some depth to this admittedly dull and infuriatingly difficult-to-work-on body, but theyâre somewhat misguided. The Testarossa intake streaks paired with a triangular vent on the quarter panel and a rectangular cutout for the exhaust donât work together to create a harmonious and cohesive design.
Detailing/Bauhaus
I see glimpses of unfulfilled ideas strewn throughout the design. Going without pronounced headlights could definitely be pulled off, and I appreciate you trying to make it production-ready by stuffing the optics inside of the grille, but Iâm still not entirely sure about that. My favorite view is actually the rear three-quarter, although honestly, itâs not terrific either. The spoiler feels about two decades out of fashion, as does the side vent and the weird carbon-fiber cutout at the center of it all (still not quite sure what thatâs supposed to be). Does it look âBauhaus-yâ though? Well, honestly, no. The primitive shapes need to work together instead of being strewn about the car. Unfortunately, Iâm going to have to say that this thing missed the brief.
DELPHINIDA HESTIA HYBRID - @azkaalfafa
Proportions
I sense more than one image of a Porsche 959 was used when making the side profile of the Hestia. Itâs extremely long, thanks to a blocky tail extension, making it look almost a touch rear-heavy. The front is a standard low-nose sports car treatment: everything is where it should be and, in turn, looks classically correct. As for the rear, I can see what you were going for. It seems like a trend nowadays to hide every semblance of rear-end design from the side view (and by that, I mean nesting it all behind side edges), and I think you did that pretty well. The design doesnât look too narrow or squished, although the large body-color bar running across makes it look a tad tall.
Surfacing
Itâs well done, not much else I could add to that. I like the vent on the doors and the rear long-tail extension, although it does get excessive in places. I donât like the way the front and rear number plate holders are molded, and the vent on the rear is very questionable. Why do you need an air intake at the back if the car is front-engined?
Detailing/Bauhaus
This is where things get tricky. Iâm not entirely sure about how the rocker panels are designed, with that abrupt kink at the rear. And also, I again donât like the dissonance between round and sharp shapes. The detailing at the rear is what leaves the most to be desired. Itâs awkward, and even though I like how itâs proportioned, it sort of looks like parts from three different cars were used. The round-ish brake lights, the extremely straight brake and indicator bars, the round-ish plate holder, and the rounded-square exhaust pipes make it difficult to make sense of. Is it Bauhaus, though? I would say so, in places. There are definitely things about this design that separate it from traditional Bauhaus (like the side surfacing), but the front and rear somewhat make up for it.
AGILA - @Nastoure
Proportions
Itâs classically proportionedânice defined hood, sloping roofline. Itâs also pretty bulky. Naturally, one would expect that with bulky proportions comes bulky design, and yes, that very much is the case. The front end is very big-looking. The headlights are massive, almost as large as the already ginormous grille. By contrast, the lower vent assembly is more tame and definitely more pleasing to look at. At the back, the design follows the standard Polestar body lines, which ensures a pleasing balance to the proportions. I donât really have much else to say. Most of the design is, regrettably, unwilling to take strides in experimenting with proportions. The upshot of this is that the end product looks âcorrectly-proportioned,â but a bit bland. Also, the wheels are a bit too big, and the offset is a bit wonky.
Surfacing
Again, there isnât much of it, outside of the pre-packaged Polestar body lines. There are flashes of brilliance in how beautifully simple the lower vents are in their design and shaping, but outside of that, Iâm honestly not impressed. This thing couldâve been so much better if there had just been a little bit more emphasis on surfacing. Shame.
Detailing/Bauhaus
There are some notable intricacies, like the front lights and rear active spoiler, but thatâs about it. The rear diffuser also has the right idea, but itâs executed poorly. I really wish you hadnât tried to make it fully 3D because it just doesnât do anything for the car. You couldâve made it look just as good, if not better, by using a couple of 2D fixtures. Rule of thumb: do not use 3D unless youâre certain you can make it look better than 2D. Is it Bauhaus? Judging by the shape of it, yes. However, Iâd say thatâs mostly because of the body choice and not the design itself.
OBELISK PHANTOM H2 - @Speeeed_D3m0n
Proportions
Another Polestar build. This one is more slender and lower than the Agila. I have no strong opinions on the side profileâitâs inoffensive, but maybe a bit uninspired. At the front, thereâs a lot going on. Breaking it all down into several reads of the eye, youâre left with a somewhat convoluted jumble of straight lines, broken up by curvy molding. I think there truly was a lot of potential here; itâs just that there shouldâve been more empty space⊠like there is at the back. By contrast, itâs almost Spartan. The only major design elements are the twin light bars and tiny, but aggressive, diffuser. I like it more than the front, for sure. Thereâs a lot more space for the design to breathe and it echoes the Bauhaus theme better.
Surfacing
I like that thereâs considerably more of it here than on the Agila. Also, the body color chosen shows off the surfacing well. What I really, really donât like is the two-tone finish. Itâs so poorly done and so off-putting, in fact, that I knocked this thing down a place on the scoreboard. I cannot overstate how much better this thing would have looked if it had just been fitted with a normal (or even floating) roof. I still think the front end is too busy, and thereâs too much space used up in the design, but at least itâs surfaced relatively well.
Detailing/Bauhaus
Thereâs barely any detailing here to speak of, aside from the admittedly cool, but out-of-place, rear diffuser. Everything is mostly pre-made fixtures. In places where custom fixtures were used, everythingâs just too sharpâround those edges a little! It also doesnât much resemble a Bauhaus design: it looks like just another modern coupe concept. There were barely any primitive shapes here. And when they are used, theyâre just out of place. Unfortunately, Iâm going to have to say that this thing missed the brief, though less so than the Agila.
RANKINGS
@ChilPollins - 1st
@azkaalfafa - 2nd
@the-chowi - 3rd
@Speeeed_D3m0n - 4th
@Nastoure - 5th
@PhirmEggplant - 6th
Congratulations to ChillPollins for winning the 1st round of TDC!
The winner has the right to either pass on the rights the host the next round of TDC, or do it themselves.
