The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (AMPA) in Canada has decided on three finalist designs for its zero-emissions vehicle competition.
The designs come from teams at the Wilson School of Design in B.C, Humber College in Toronto and Carleton University in Ottawa, according to a report from Automotive News Canada.
The AMPA launched this competition in January as a way to showcase how Canadian automotive manufacturing talent could build an electric vehicle from start to finish in Canada. The car is a concept that aims to showcase the power of the Canadian automotive sector and will be named Project Arrow. While a bit of a long shot, I reached out to the AMPA to find out if the name has anything to do with the cancelled Avro Arrow Canadian fighter plane project from the late 50s.
The three finalists have been chosen out of a pool of nine applicants by a panel of Canadian judges who have worked, or are working, in the Canadian automotive space. You can find out more about the judges on the AMPA’s blog.
The designs are as follows:
The Sea to Sky Electric’s E-Nova
Submitted by Bailee van Rikxoort and Marie-Pier Alary from the Wilson School of Design in Richmond, British Columbia, this design appears to be more in the shape of a large SUV with giant wheels and wide windshield, based on the drawing in the report. The name and its offroad looks lead me to believe it’s named after the popular Sea to Sky hiking trails in B.C.
The Traction
Sent in by Kaj Hallgrimsson, Jun0Won Kim, Mina Morcos and Matthew Schultz from Carleton University in Ottawa. This design seems to be the most practical in terms of it looking like a modern-day SUV.
The Archer
From Stephen Byowy, a Humber College student in Toronto. This drawing seems to be the most unique, with all the seats facing the center so people can face each other while the car presumably drives itself.
What’s next?
The second phase of the competition is ‘Engineering Specifications’ and its set to conclude in the Fall. There isn’t much on what teams will need to do, but they are tasked with creating supplier RFP report to request any odd or custom parts they might need for their vehicles.
Then in 2021, we’re expected to see a virtual unveiling of the cars and finally, in 2022, the concept car will release and people will be able to tour it.
Image credit: Automotive News Canada
Source: Automotive News Canada, AMPA, Project Arrow
Update 05/06/2020: A correction has been issued as the images for the Traction and Archer sketches were mixed up.
