Take a quick glance at Meelis Lillemets’ concept car and you’ll instantly recognize it to be a racecar. It’s nailed all those proportions perfectly, but look a little closer and you see that while it broadly resembles your preconceived notion of what an F1 racecar is supposed to look like, Lillemets’ conceptual racecar is, in fact, quite different-looking.
Titled the Formula-E Concept, the automobile is a combination of contemporary and past styles, with a boxy exterior that’s reminiscent of F1 cars from the 70s and 80s, along with an electric drivetrain that’s a nod to Formula 1’s future. The car sports a dual-tone carbon-fiber outer body that boasts of an edgy, boxy aesthetic. While the aesthetic itself is a retro-inspired one, it gets a modern treatment thanks to the exposed carbon-fiber pattern paired beautifully with the car’s incredibly sleek paneling.
Perhaps one of the most noticeable details on the Formula-E concept is the closed cockpit, a pretty recent design mandate from the F1 regulating body. The cockpit’s transparent panel sits absolutely flush against the car body, with no visible seam or parting line. The entire panel opens upwards and forwards, accessible via latches on the back. The cockpit is positioned right at the front of the vehicle’s main mass, leaving the back area for the electric drivetrain and the battery-unit. Air intakes on the sides supply the motor and the brakes with cool incoming air, while a pretty large battery-pack means the car could potentially complete the entire race without needing a recharge!
Designer: Meelis Lillemets
