GM’s not ready to show us the final Volt yet, so let’s have some fun with Photoshop. GM-Volt.com’s own graphics expert Matthew of MJay Studios took up the task of photoshopping the 1/3 prototype photo to give us a hint of what the production Volt may look like, his is above.
The one below is done by one of our readers.
Any other graphics artists out there want to take a shot!?
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:27 pm)Thank you to those that took the time to Photoshop this.
It’s hard to draw a conclusion though. I like the top one better,
but still like the concept the best.
But really, at this point, I’m mostly concerned about the runaway
cost to the consumer.
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:27 pm)If it looks close to the blue one up top….wondemous! The silver one on the bottom looks a little Volt-ius to me.
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:31 pm)Thanks for the time it must have taken to do this. My first impression is I thought of a 1966 Mustang, or maybe another year?
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:35 pm)First of all recognize that the artists are attempting to remove the camouflage and show us the Volt design…not design it from scratch.
I thought about giving it a shot, but it’s really hard to figure out what’s going on underneath all that diagonal tape.
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:53 pm)If it looks like the top one, I am somewhat relieved. I just hope they keep as large of wheels as possible on the final product.
The bottom one looks like a Prius. Yuk!
Apr 5th, 2008 (3:58 pm)I much prefer the bottom one.
The little notch rear window leaves me colder than cold.
Apr 5th, 2008 (4:06 pm)Yeah, I really hope they don’t squish the windows for the sake of styling.
Apr 5th, 2008 (4:14 pm)Looks like the top pic is close…
Thanks for your effort !
Apr 5th, 2008 (5:07 pm)In the spirit of fun, I’ve posted an updated version of my original rendering. Click the link at the top of the post that says “one of our readers” next to my original rendering (the one on the bottom).
Apr 5th, 2008 (6:12 pm)Voltme, your photoshopped “spy photo” keeps looking better and better! You might enjoy reading my post #8 at the new Interior Spy Photo topic in which two GM guys at Volt Nation agreed that the Volt is really a ground-breaking 4-Door Sport Sedan design at…..
http://gm-volt.com/2008/04/05/chevy-volt-interior-spy-photo/#comment-35766
Apr 5th, 2008 (6:58 pm)It comes in colors! Say hello to iVolt…
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:05 pm)I am getting a little worried. From some of the pictures it sure looks
like people in the car are going to be setting in four holes. This could
be tough on us old guys (and girls). To get head room for people
6 foot 2 inches tall in a car that low must be some trick. JMHO
Take Care
Arch
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:24 pm)I like that people have taken the time to render these images – I suspect that they are rather close to the model.
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:54 pm)These seem pretty good considering the situation but expect a Malibu-esque front end since its the new face of Chevy.
Apr 5th, 2008 (7:57 pm)Great work from both of you. I tried but don’t have the time or skill with Photoshop to get anywhere close to these.
Apr 5th, 2008 (8:28 pm)It is amazing what we will try do to, just to get a view of this car…………
Apr 5th, 2008 (11:59 pm)“It is amazing what we will try do to, just to get a view of this car…………”
And only 2.5 years until we have a shot at getting one! (Methinks I should get out more)
Apr 6th, 2008 (12:45 am)With these photos, it look slike the trunk is either going to be small, or the opening/lid at least is small looking.
Also like the high res photo in the other thread… I’m surprised this has the same drag as the Prius (which was stated elsewhere) with that front end which looks kind of flat. Maybe the grill is open and the air flows through some how with low resistence?
Apr 6th, 2008 (1:49 am)Hey Arch…
You’re not the only one concerned about that. However, hope springs eternal! Who knows…maybe we can fabricate a low-profile bracket assembly for the seat frame to rest on?
Apr 6th, 2008 (5:32 am)Safety issue.
The tail and brake lights are too small, they need to be bigger.
Apr 6th, 2008 (7:37 am)Jeff M,
It’s a hatchback so you this isn’t an issue.
Apr 6th, 2008 (8:52 am)I think both models show some thought and study. I wish I could do something like this, but my skills aren’t very good in this area.
Following are comments from some of the published articles:
“design changes that include lengthening the front overhang and slightly stretching out the rear spoiler”
“the design is getting a combination of more rounded (front) and abrupt edges (rear). From what we could see — given the duct tape camouflage on the 1/3 scale model in the wind tunnel and the tarps on the pair of design studio models, the production car will likely lose some of the pronounced, muscular wheel wells of the concept”
“In the wind tunnel we learned that 90 percent of the drag on a car is the suction created by air swirling around the rear of the vehicle.”
The battery pushed the occupants outboard, or to the sides of the vehicle, so the design team had to get creative with the sections of the roof structure to enable aerodynamics and provide adequate head room. The interior will accommodate a 6-foot 2-inch (99 th percentile) male comfortably in the front and rear seats.
“By having the battery in the middle, we were able to move the occupants apart and give them more space,” said Tim Greig, interior design manager for the Chevrolet Volt. “We also shrink-wrapped the interior, particularly the doors, for comfort and spaciousness. There is no wasted space.
Just some suggestions for future renditions:
1) One article mentioned that the seats in the Volt were moved outward to provide room for the batteries in the center tunnel. Also, observers mentioned that the fender flares were all but gone. My guess is that the Volt is wider with minimal fender flares. Maybe the Cadillac CTS Coupe would provide a good model for the side profile
http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/experience/news_ctscoupe.jsp?seo=goo_cts
2) The wheels in the model may be close to the final wheels. For aerodynamic reasons, these wheels typically are almost solid (see EV-1 pictures)
http://avt.inl.gov/pdf/fsev/eva/ev1_eva.pdf
3) Another article discussed their “sneak peek” at the rear, provided by GM partially lifting the cover. It appears that the taillights and back end are similar to the concept.
Apr 6th, 2008 (3:59 pm)I don’t care as long as it is electric and can get me back and forth to work. 42 miles. My next vehicle will be electric. Chevy-VOLTTED
Apr 8th, 2008 (10:51 am)Who cares about the details of what it looks like — all these articles about what it will look like is just hype trying to get people interested in a cool looking car. All I care about (and should care about) is performance and timing. I am currently getting 50MPG on my 2003 prius with 134,000 miles and would like to replace it but it looks like GM will probably be too late for me. Troubling that 5 years after the Prius, GM is still so far behind. Don’t get me wrong, I want this car (if it works as promised); I just can’t understand why they are so far behind the 8-ball.
Apr 8th, 2008 (8:23 pm)The end of 2010 stinks as far as how long it takes to develop a vehicle like this, BUT being an engineer in the auto industry I also understand. This isn’t just tweaking another internal combustion engine for more horsepower or mileage, this has the potential to wonderfully change automobiles of the future – a very welcome change. And let’s face it, not many people going to dealerships 3+ years ago put gas mileage near the top of their list of “must haves”, otherwise we’d probably still be paying only $2.25/gal at most. I just hope that GM is doing what they seem to be committed to, going for the home run on this concept rather than just dangling a carrot for people to hold out until gas prices go down a bit. Don’t think for a minute that the oil industry isn’t going to try and pop some more wells if they can keep vehicles like this from becoming more mainstream.