Finally there is an official word on the Russian touring car I reported on a while ago.
Pictures appeared on the internet for the last 2 years or so, and showed a really redical looking car. From the pictures it was hard to figure out any details though and information was scarce. Now the first official CAD images of the car designed by Oleg Babich have been unveiled on the website from the company that will be producing the car, Awesomatix.
The motor drives the longitudal drive shaft directly through a bevel gear assembly which hasn't been seen before on a production touring car. The biggest innovation however is the suspension. The upper suspension has a lot of resembance to a 1:12th scale front set-up. The lower arms are milled out of carbon sheet and pivots on balls instead of hinge pins. This car doesn't have the usual coil-over shocks, but some rotary shock system with torsional springs wrapped around them. The whole shock assembly is really small and can be fitted right on the chassis for a very low center of gravity. According to the site they offer a full range of adjustments. This setup looks very exotic, but from the released images you can't really tell how it all works. We'll have to wait till the first cars hit the market I guess!
I totally love the looks and innovative features of this car and can't wait to have a closer look! With the current trend towards brushless motors and lipo batteries I think this could spark a whole new wave of touring car evolution. I'm looking forward to what's coming!
