Carlos Salaff Project Caden

Cool,
Thanks Timo

 

Closing out ‪Caden‬'s rear bulkhead will be this plate with a large oval hole in it.

Through it the fuel cell will be installed within the bulkhead. The hole will then be covered by a stress bearing panel, bolted in with mil-spec nut plates.
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Hi K1,

This project is an expression of my personal passions and beliefs, and really--a hunch. It's hard to express how cool it is when these concepts resonate with other enthusiasts.

Like yourself, I have a feeling that there is a place in the market--albeit small-- for the "simple" combo of a great chassis, a great engine, analog controls, and an exciting, handcrafted design. There are many ways to interpret these qualities, of course. It's really cool that you mention the Mac F1. It has been a sort of spiritual guide in many respects throughout the project.

I appreciate you taking the time to express how you connect with the project, it's very encouraging!

Carlos

 

Hi guys,

I recently sat down with host Mark Greene, and did a podcast for his inspiring automotive show, Cars Yeah. I had the opportunity to share stories of my career journey, passions, and the latest on ‪‎Project Caden‬.

411: Carlos Salaff | CARS YEAH

 

2016 is off to a good start, with ‪‎Project Caden‬'s aluminum passenger cell/tub nearly complete.

This is a rear view, and the large oval hole is to load the fuel cell.
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A lower A-arm being laid out, before trimming and welding.
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Here's Caden's aluminum passenger cell/tub sitting inverted at Metcalf Racing.

The Cleco fasteners hold various panels in place, before driving in rows of rivets.
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A view from the rear bulkhead/fuel cell, forward into Caden‬'s tub. The inner panels are being bonded, and riveted in place. On the far left, the steel front bulkhead is visible.
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Delving into ‪‎Project Caden‬'s interior. I've spent the past couple of weeks designing and modeling Caden's interior "closeouts": Door sills, door jambs--all of those surfaces that bridge and resolve the gaps between exterior, interior, and chassis.

We don't often think about how much effort it takes to resolve all of those nooks and crannies within a design. If done poorly, we notice those elements--but if done well, the details just seem to belong there.

In the 2 images at the bottom, the green highlighted area represents the aluminum closeout structure that will bond/rivet to the chassis and to the body. This area constitutes the door jamb structure, rear bulkhead and window, as well as support for the windshield and rear clamshell.

Also note the blue component, which is the remote fuel neck, gasket, and hose. It will interface with a fuel lid on the rear clamshell.

The instrument panel has been blocked in--but details such as vents and controls need to be designed into it.
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Hi Paul,

I agree with you regarding simplicity. I feel that great design is a process of boiling away the unnecessary, until you are left with the essence of the object.

On a less esoteric note--good question regarding NVH.

I'm thinking that we'll begin testing with very little in the way of "NVH insulation", then add/tweak as needed. Caden is being made with two settings; a road and track setting. As such, some customers may want to use the car in both modes, but others may want a dedicated track car, or road car. So I imagine that some tailoring of NVH will happen as we tune the car's character for each customer and use.

As far as the exact methods we'll need to use to tune NVH, I'm frankly not sure until we begin testing. I'm open to suggestions!

 

Thanks Paul. Insulation mat will be one tool to we'll explore isolate the interior. I imagine that this along with suspension tuning, good parts isolation/seals, and possibly some aero tuning, will get comfort levels to a happy place. I'll be sure to share that part of the process.

 

Hi Zack,

NVH can be caused by a variety of factors, so I would say that it has been a consideration throughout the design process. After all, a component without a proper grommet, or the lack of stiffness, or proper fastening of a panel could all lead to related problems. We will be tuning and tailoring the subjective traits of NVH during testing, and minimizing/eliminating annoying traits. We want a raw, connected, visceral car that is inspired by vintage racing machines, as opposed to the arguably more numb and detached characteristics of modern-day cars.

I recently spoke to my experienced chassis builder, Robert Metcalf about this subject. He gave an articulate answer which I'll post here:

The term NVH refers to Noise, Vibration and Harshness. Let's deal with harshness first. While driving a Caden is not intended to be a harsh experience, harshness is a subjective concept and not suited to evaluation by any sort of instrumentation. All-out competition cars can be harsh, of course, because harshness is irrelevant to a race driver unless it impedes his ability to drive the car. With a road going car, however, we do not want harshness to intrude on the experience of driving or riding in the car. That said, one could make the argument that driving a '62 Vette is considerably harsher than driving a 2016 model, and that it is inherent in the experience rather than detrimental to it. Harshness in this context means that "connection to the road" that the driver feels. The Caden has been designed in such a way as to enhance this road connection. The cost is a somewhat harsher experience than some current high end, super high performance cars. Another example of this, besides the monocoque tub, is the H-pattern shifter we employ rather than the now more common paddle shifter. Although minimally quicker shifting, the paddle shifter leaves the driver somewhat detached from that road-connected feeling. We believe that most who drive a Caden will not find this "harshness" annoying, but rather exhilarating.

Of the other two terms, noise and vibration, we must remember that it is the vibration that creates the noise. In order to keep both levels low in the Caden, we are attaching vibration damping panels to the aluminum skins of the monocoque tub which eliminate the noise at its source - vibration of the aluminum panels. Other sound deadening panels go on top of these below the fabrics of the interior. The roar of the BMW V-10 is beautiful. Vibrating panels are not, so we have taken steps to eliminate that noise.

 

Hi guys,

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Form Trends magazine for an in-depth interview about Project Caden. Form trends is a great vehicle design website.

Designer Follows Passions and Dreams to Build His Own Supercar ? Form Trends

 

K1,
Thanks! I'm not at the finish line with the prototype yet, but the encouragement along the way is very nice.

 

These two bottom sketch renderings were premiered in the Form Trends article. They join the front view for a set

From these three views, the center "fuselage" theme is visible--which begins in the nose, and sweeps through the fenders to the rear. The airfoil-shaped suspension and tires will be in clear view through the rear tunnels. The rear coilovers will be on display in the rear window, along with the drive train.

60's to 80's era F1 and Group C racers have been the main design influences, but i'm after a progressive interpretation of those themes. Of great importance to me is the creation of dramatic, beautiful volumes, and clean surfaces, which I see in timeless car designs. I believe that there will also be a special honesty due to the naked aluminum body, giving the car a certain aircraft quality.
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A view from above.

Having fun with the digital model, and some graphic design/branding ideas.

I love the bold and clean graphic designs of the 60's and 70's. The racing posters, car livery etc. The love for that era of artwork is influencing my approach.
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Hi Raj,

Awesome to hear that you are enjoying--thanks for letting me know!