Deltawing four-seat road car concept


The DeltaWing has been an interesting experiment to watch evolve. It started out as just a test in the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans to see if such a radically different design could actually be competitive on the track. It has kept racing though and entered its second season of racing in the US this year. DeltaWing Technologies Inc. is now taking the next big leap in the racecar's tech with a four-seat roadcar concept (pictured above).

The concept shares the distinctive shape of the DeltaWing with a narrow front and wide rear, but the greenhouse is much larger to accommodate four people instead of just one racing driver. Obviously, at the moment it lacks important parts like headlights and door handles, but the rendering gives a general idea of what a street version of the racecar would look like.

However, we might not ever see the DeltaWing road car on the streets. Instead of building the car, DeltaWing Technologies is trying to license the platform to automakers for mass production. "We aren't large enough to build enough to make an impact," said Gary Fong, Director of Communications at DeltaWing Technologies to Autoblog. It wants thousands of these vehicles produced each year, and partnering with a large company is the best way to do that. DeltaWing would work closely with the company and thinks it could have a production-ready prototype in four years, according to Fong.

DeltaWing Technologies has some big promises in the lithe concept's package. It believes that a small, four-cylinder engine with 85-110 horsepower would allow the car to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in about six seconds, a 130 mph top speed and as much as 70 miles per gallon fuel economy. It says that's possible because the DeltaWing is lighter and more aerodynamically efficient than traditional vehicles.

The concept certainly evokes the three-passenger Nissan BladeGlider, which uses electric power but makes some similar promises. Given the legal battle between DeltaWing and Nissan over the shape, it will interesting to see if either of these futuristic vehicles will make it to the street. Scroll down to read the full announcement.