HALDEN / PROCESSSHEET H-400 · SCALE 1:20

FROM A LINE
TO A CAR,
STEP BY STEP

How a sketch becomes a clay model, what the wind tunnel changes, how the five colours were chosen, and how a tall driver fits under a low roof. The notes we pin above the boards.

  1. 01SKETCH→
  2. 02CLAY MODEL→
  3. 03WIND TUNNEL→
  4. 04COLOUR→
  5. 05FIT→
[01]
SKETCH

EIGHT SKETCHES,
ONE ROOFLINE

Each new generation starts with proportion sketches of the side view. Wheels and cabin stay put; only the roof moves. We draw the options, then keep the one we already had. Pick a sketch to lay it over the car.

ANATOMY OF A SIDE VIEW1:50
ORANGE: SKETCH · INK: CAR
01 / 08

ONE
LINE

02 / CLAY MODEL

FROM A BUCK
TO A BODY

  1. 01BUCK0.0 T
  2. 02ROUGH2.9 T
  3. 03FINISHED2.4 T

STAGE 01 · BUCKA steel frame on a flat plate, built up with foam blocks to about 40 mm inside the final surface.

STAGE 02 · ROUGHClay warmed to 60°C is pressed on by hand, too much of it. Rakes take it back to flats.

STAGE 03 · FINISHEDSteel slicks blend the flats. Every section is checked against the drawing, then the clay is scanned.

010.00 T
TOOL 01

RAKES

A toothed steel loop on a wooden handle. It cuts the rough clay back to flats and leaves grooves that show the direction of the cut.

TOOL 02

STEEL SLICKS

Thin flexible blades, bent by hand over the surface. They blend the flats into one curve and leave the clay smooth enough to scan.

TOOL 03

SECTION TEMPLATES

Plywood cut to the drawing at each station. Held against the clay, the gap shows where to add and where to cut.

[03]
WIND TUNNEL

FIVE THINGS
THE TUNNEL CHANGED

A full-size model runs at 160 km/h with smoke at the nose. The whole car measures Cd 0.32. After each run something is cut, filled or moved, then run again. Hover or tap a drawing to rerun the test.

FIG. 04 · P-02 SLATE GREY · SIDE ELEVATION
04 / COLOUR

FIVE PAINTS,
CHOSEN
OUTDOORS

  • An off-white, a little warmer than pure white. It shows every surface, so clay models are sprayed in it before they are judged.

  • A mid grey with a little blue in it. The colour of the first car, and still the one most people choose.

  • The same orange as the marks on our drawings. Loud on purpose. About one car in ten is painted in it.

  • A dark green with grey in it. It looks almost black indoors and turns green in the sun.

  • A deep blue for the evening. Dark paint shows panel gaps least kindly, so this is the hardest one to get right.

[05]
FIT

A LOW ROOF,
A TALL DRIVER,
TWO SMALL SEATS

The cabin is drawn around one point: the H-point, the hip pivot of a seated person. Set a height and see where the seat goes and how much room is left under the roof. Figures are illustrative.

PERSON HEIGHT175CM
HEADROOM
90MM
H-POINT HEIGHT
290MM
SEAT TRAVEL
120 / 240
FIT
GOOD
SEAT:
HEIGHT:
SEATING PACKAGENOSE TO TAIL · MM
  1. 01The H-point is where the thigh meets the hip. Pedals, wheel, roof and glass are all measured from it.
  2. 02The front seats slide 240 mm and drop 30 mm as they go back, so a tall driver sits lower as well as further back.
  3. 03The rear seats suit two adults up to about 1.60 m, or children. The roofline decides that, and we kept the roofline.
[0,212] [380,0] [2140,0] [0,598]

SEE THE CLAY
AND THE BUCK

Viewings include the clay room and the seating buck. You can sit in it at your own height.

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