haha thanks for quashing my aussie ignorance about the minute man. just don't go saying to anybody they are a minute man around oz or they'll clobber you. good work chief

what awesome details. Your responses and attention have been INCREDIBLE. It is fun to watch this design evolve, and details unfold throughout the competition. I feel a bit "invested" now in the MinuteMan and understand its feasibility much better than I did initially. Great follow through!

Hi again, Filski! I was pondering the internationality of this crowd, and I just realized you may not know the history of who a MinuteMan is, being an Ozzie! To be quick, Minutemen were members of teams of select men from the American colonial militia during the American Revolutionary War. They provided a highly mobile, rapidly deployed force that allowed the colonies to respond immediately to threats (hence the name of the militia, and ALSO my concept). Paul Revere, one of our most famous leaders in the Revolutionary War was a minuteman. See this link for more on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minutemen

Firts of all, Thank you everyone for your continued discussions abou the MinuteMan Concept. Filski: The name MinuteMan Plays on two ideas, and I tried to make them apparent in the presentation, but just to be clear, the twofold inspiration is this: firstly, that the concept is strong, nimble, and capable for use in contemporary Boston, and secondly, that the wheelbase adjustment feature only takes a minute or less to implement, using the wheel's motors against each other. Aurel: Thank you for the tires comment- they were harder to achieve than I thought they would be. Glad you like what you see- as for the size issue, I have created a diagram using seat size comparison between my concept, and the previously used reference car, the Smart. Hope this clears the air some. Feel free to get out your rulers- the orange "L" is the same size overlaid on both images. Tym- here is an idea for the internal combustion powerplant source and placement. I think that were I to push this toward production I would talk to people in the motorcycle industry first, along with those who have designed and produced these two products(TRUST ME, these are worth a look): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gseTGwppbg&feature=PlayList&p=75C4B74242960688&playnext=1&index=6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWoo82zNUA Again, all, thank you so much, and this is a load of fun!

cool exoskeletal-like form, but why the name 'minute man'...fun lasts a minute ?

Craaaaaaaazy stuff... Even if it seems many modifications should be necessary before any production, I like this concept and the references to old carriages... and your tires are awesome. However, regarding to the size of the cockpit, I think that this car is much bigger that you mean...

Thank you Tym! I will get one up here as soon as I can. I have planned for the engine to be a small boxer-style bike engine, with high outputjust behind the rear seats. You can see the muffler in this render, but I will get a better diagram up soon.

super cool. i'd love to see a package drawing.How many people fit in this thing and where does the engine go?

Thank you Juan- This design had a few things driving it: first, a random sketchpad sketch I did, second, insectoid proportions and articulation, and lastly a bit of a "horseless carriage" feel. I attempted to polish all of that off with styling you might find from Ducati or Buell. I agree that simple is better, but I've erred too far on that side of things, and aimed for more complex, as I mentioned earlier in the comments thread, and I have apparently succeeded too much for many tastes. Way too broad an aim it seems, though I am getting some recognition for the design from outside the community, so some of it must have survived the process. :)

Very advanced looking. I think you should make it simpler. Visually it is too confusing and I don't know what your design theme is. Simple is better than complicated. Keep up the good work.

Here is an open-air shot, so you can get a better feel for what is going on in the interior.

Another shot of the Multi.Uti Rack, and visible seating configuration.

Flavien- it would seem that I don't know my beetles fully. No, there is not necessarily a link between the scarab and Boston, although there are many Coleoptera species to be found all over Boston in the warmer months. You'll note that Boston has inspired the concept's functions, its name, (which also speaks to that same inspired functionality), and even the color scheme. This concept began as a sketch done much earlier, and as I like organic themes typically, the scarab was my muse, because I saw simple beauty in it. Anyway, keep an eye on my CheckUp series for this design (under Busy.X) for more radical updates (informed by your's and others critiques) away from this particular iteration. As this entry sits in a competition, I will do my best to explain all my reasoning behind this particular format and presentation to anyone with questions. Thank you all for your continuing consideration! Here is a simple frame exhibiting an option for gear transport.

I think you didnt pick the right features from the scarab. I think the vertical split between the "shoulders" and the abdomen is more important. The proportion between "front" and "rear" is about 1/3-2/3. Then you have all the "graphics" of the abdomen following the same "horizontal" direction, contrasting with the vertical split. etc... Idont mean you should put wheels to the scarab, but spend more time analysing it. Is there a link between a scarab and boston?

...and another shot.

Flavien, are there any elements that you see as stronger or weaker? I have aimed for a theme and took my inspiration from a couple of sources, but especially the forms found on specific types of scarab beetles- the concept was even called scarab for a short time. I wonder a bit if the detailing has shrouded the themes a bit. If you could suggest any specific ways to enhance the guiding theme, I'd welcome that. I do believe I know of what you speak, but specifics always help. :) If you check out the forms in this photo, you will hopefully see some of the forms emerging that I took as my theme.

Great 3D work, and cool sketches...But Im not sure about the design itself. There is too much going on, no strong theme. It would be better a bit simplified with some iconic features, a bit less random. Dont get me wrong, details are good, but you need to get the overall concept right first. Then everything works better.

its cool, a bit like a sportshoe inspired quad! the colours were a bit too striking for me, but i think thats it..... waiting for the next iteration with the sidestep addition!

Moksh- I agree with you there. I am progressing toward a configuration like you've described, and I hope to have the cabin access fully rendered and shared on here before the gig is up!

I think u can also improve on the accessibility to the cabin as to me it seems the cabin is a bit high...may be some sort of side step or something....

well the front suspension luks a bit more possible one now... car luks gud...

JRogers, Checkup has been invaluable, and I look forward to utilizing it in future. Thank you and the team for providing this environment for all of us, seriously. I am learning a lot.

Thanks all so far! I appreciate everyone's take, and thoughts (especially the positive ones... ;) I've been gone all day, and am glad to see the full-on consideration period for Boston well under way. Sorry to those for whom the concept is too detailed- a weakness I have been accused of in past is too little detail, and so I am trying to work more detail in- perhaps I should dial it back from eleven..? I am also going to be loading more sketches and new views as we go, so please stay tuned! <<>> We have some serious talent on display here guys(and gals). I hope we can look through all of it, and consider it well. You all are a rare group of true enthusiasts, and I am glad to be among you.

It's a stunna!

cool...wheels i think are a little to close,they could be smaller..

Very nice! very good presentation too. A bit too sophisticated and overloaded for me but I appreciate your effort: My compliments. Ill vote for u.

Pushes the boundaries of quad's and that is a good thing. Makes the driver the Master of the road and the machine. For me this is a bit to Jetson's, but I know there is a market for this. I do believe that Aptera is in the same market. Great entry. GREAT use of Checkup.

I like this buggy, tough a bit overloaded with details for my taste.

Here is a quick size comparo, based on seat size, powertrain plan, etc. I will provide full interior shots shortly. Hopefully this clears things up for now.

Yes, we ARE designers.... As for size, the example you see with the seats inside is a bit of a last minute thing, as I had a bit of misunderstanding with Ariel last night while entering it, and she was not seeing number of passengers. It was late, and I had that screencapture from earlier in my model build, and included it. I will add some more interior shots, etc, so you can have a clearer idea of scale. Also, I must add that despite my best and multiple efforts, there are still typos in the description- any quotation marks were not recognized and you ended up with "other 1CI 1D you may traverse" that was intended to be any other "I" you may traverse, as in interstate. Also, there are random N's scattered throughout- I believe those were initially line breaks, but I don't really know. Look for more details here in the "Thoughts" thread for the rest of the competition. For now, here is a color scheme that didn't make it, but was fun none the less. It took me more in an Italian feeling direction.

this has come along way, and i like the design with all the changes made. however i am not sure of the packaging and engineering. but we aren't engineers, we're designers!!!!

it nike design

Its a pretty Interesting concept guy, not too sure if I like the design. From the size of the seats inside this thing is enormous, and as everyone agrees, big is not for boston