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Features:
- 4 wheel drive
- 3+R transmission with central differential
- steering with Ackermann geometry, working steering wheel and Hand of God
- V12 fake engine
- independent suspension on all wheels
- Everything can be opened
Design process and challenges
The first version of the model only had rear-wheel drive, but later the whole chassis was redesigned to incorporate four-wheel drive and also the HOG was relocated from the roof to the front windshield. The pictures show both versions, the new version was not fully photographed again since the changes didn't affect the looks too much.The body design was not too challenging, the front face was born quite early with the first LEGO Digital Designer sketches. This was the first model I used LDD for the design, and since then I use it extensively by switching between real building and LDD continuously.
The most challenging part was designing the rear and filling the huge hole in the middle part of the bonnet above the engine. At least 10 variants were implemented until the satisfying solution was found. Making the whole bonnet possible to open and fixing the front of it at an angle was also a big challenge even if it was obvious after finding the solution.
This was my first successful model and my first model blogged by The Lego Car Blog and reviewed by Balrog.
Building instructions were made Therion.
Since this model I usually design simple, four-speed transmissions to reduce friction in the drivetrain, to reduce the space between the seats and since more speeds don't add too much to playability anyway. This design preference was inspired by Paul Boratko's (a.k.a. Crowkillers) designs.
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