If the Project Flake Concept looks and sounds like science fiction, it is. The Flake started as a final project for designer Da Feng at Coventry University and features electro-hydraulic flaps and adaptive winglets.
The pictures and video feature the Flake in its third iteration, which uses 250 active body panels controlled by mini solenoids pulling on carbon nano-tube wires. The result is a body that can truly adapt to it’s surroundings and the task at hand. For example, the Flake’s body can in theory lay flat to decrease drag, hinge upward to slow the vehicle and collect solar power or open fully to help with dramatic cornering.
While the Flake is still a long ways from design table to production line, the ambitious and inventive designer has spoken with an ex-Williams Formula 1 engineer who said the idea and execution is sound, with a few more adjustments and tweaks.
