The term supercar is one that is increasingly bandied about and, as such, is cloaked in some confusion. As there is no hard and fast definition, and it sounds like something awesome, it is getting overapplied to mean any car that is above and beyond a souped up Honda Civic. In the same way that calling all of our kids “exceptional” means that nobody is really exceptional, the overuse of the moniker supercar has led some to start using the term “hypercar” in an effort to distinguish these vehicles. But I’ll let Noah Joseph, the European Editor of Autoblog, describe what we’re really talking about here:
“It’s a car that’s singularly focused on performance with little regard towards other factors like accommodation or cost. It doesn’t need to be manufactured by an exotic automaker, but usually is. It similarly doesn’t need to be a two-door coupe or convertible, but tends to be. They also tend to cost more than just about anything else on the road, but all that really matters is how it performs.”
In other words, I can paint as many flames running up the side of my 1998 Honda CRV as I want, heck, I can even put a cape on it, and I’m still going to have to admit that my car isn’t super.
The desire to create a supercar that would be native to Poland is what inspired the brothers Marek and Łukasz Tomkiewicz to begin their company Arrinera and embark on their own long-term supercar project. In 2008, they built their first prototype as a proof of concept and they have since concentrated on the creation of a GT-class race car. This car made its debut in 2016 at Birmingham’s Autosport show and later that year became the first ever Polish car to take place in the Goodwood Festival of Speed. In addition to developing the GT-class car, Arrinera has also been working on the Hussarya 33, a road car which is now permitted for testing and measuring on public roads. Finally, the team has decided to develop an electric supercar, in keeping with the global fascination for alternatives to fossil fuels.
The design of a supercar means paying attention to every detail, and in this case, the details came from a 3D printer. OMNI3D worked with Arrinera to create a fully functional car lamp prototype using Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) technology. The ability of this type of production to create complex geometries was the key to identifying it as ideal for the creation of the lamp.
The print itself was created using ABS-42, a filament known for its durability, easy post-production processes, and a wide variety of prototype finishes. In total, the six components of the lamp, which measures 440 x 370 x 200 mm, took 65 hours of print time and cost a total of €65 (approximately $77). The lamp has a primary lens measuring 90 mm in addition to three-way daytime running lights and parking lights, and uses LED for both dipped headlights and high beam lights.
The prototype, with pre-assembled electronics and components before post-production finishing, was recently on display at formnext in Frankfurt last week.
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[Images: OMNI3D]
