Coventry University graduate James Kerr chose to model his final year thesis project on Local Motors’ crowd-sourced automotive design philosophy.
Called the Canvas Concept, the super lightweight vehicle is based around a highly customizable platform, which facilitates personalization through the use of a centralized adaptable chassis. Perspective owners could adjust a carbon rod frame to change the shape of the vehicle’s fabric body to achieve almost any desired body style. Users can also adjust driveline components along the central chassis, allowing for customization of the vehicle’s track and wheelbase.
Powered by a small turbine that generates electricity for the wheel mounted motors, the Canvas concept can run on a range of fuels from biodiesel to hydrogen. Its small dimensions are influenced by the increasing urbanization trend of the younger target demographic and the need for greater aerodynamic efficiency.
Kerr says he chose the Local Motors brand because the company is “pushing the limits of vehicle micro manufacture, customization and crowd source design”, all of which strongly feature in the Canvas concept.
