The Real P5 ?

[WilliamH]

We have all seen the P5 pictures that came from the announcement, but while we discussed the ability to get straight news from the Shreveport Times, this picture appeared on the Elio Motors Facebook page almost unnoticed.

[Broken External Image]
Take a good look at what you see and don't see...........
What looks like fully shrouded openings by the front wheels..........
The modified left side rocker panel to hide the exhaust before it exits..........
The carefully detailed Elio emblem but no pins on the hood.........
Compare it to some of the early CAD drawings of the P5.........

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Looks like the upper picture is a lot more refined than this earlier version.......

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Good call, William. It does look like a newer revision.

The widened rocker to run the exhaust down the right side makes a lot of sense; I wasn't sure how they were going to stuff the pipe under the chassis. They may also need to mostly enclose the underside for aerodynamics/economy and that would make sticking the pipe underneath hard. Shrouding the suspension openings is also a good idea aerodynamically.

 

[DanS]

 

[pistonboy]

At the LA invitation only event, I asked Paul Elio about the absence of hood latches and he indicated the cad drawing was not fully detailed. I googled images of the P5 and they show a raised area in the rocker panel area for the exhaust but nothing as significant as this drawing. Is the exhaust pipe fully enclosed building up heat? I preferred the clean lines of the P4, but maybe that is not realistic.

Certainly this is the first time the front suspension is shown enclosed. I don't think I like it. I, being a gearhead, like the appearance of the suspension parts. I think coil-over-shocks would look good. I think diagonally placed would look even better. All this is done in the name of mileage. At my age I want to enjoy the life I have left by having a good sporty looking vehicle. The h*ll with sensible mileage. Being happy is more important to me.

 

[WilliamH]

At the LA invitation only event, I asked Paul Elio about the absence of hood latches and he indicated the cad drawing was not fully detailed. I googled images of the P5 and they show a raised area in the rocker panel area for the exhaust but nothing as significant as this drawing. Is the exhaust pipe fully enclosed building up heat? I preferred the clean lines of the P4, but maybe that is not realistic.

Certainly this is the first time the front suspension is shown enclosed. I don't think I like it. I, being a gearhead, like the appearance of the suspension parts. I think coil-over-shocks would look good. I think diagonally placed would look even better. All this is done in the name of mileage. At my age I want to enjoy the life I have left by having a good sporty looking vehicle. The h*ll with sensible mileage. Being happy is more important to me.

I'd like the view rotated about 30 degrees toward the front to get a better look at what's going on with the suspension.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

At the LA invitation only event, I asked Paul Elio about the absence of hood latches and he indicated the cad drawing was not fully detailed. I googled images of the P5 and they show a raised area in the rocker panel area for the exhaust but nothing as significant as this drawing. Is the exhaust pipe fully enclosed building up heat? I preferred the clean lines of the P4, but maybe that is not realistic.

Aren't the exposed latches just for the prototype? Wasn't there an interview with Paul talking about how he was saving a dollar on the actual conventional latch by having the hood open the right way (forward) negating the need for a safety catch?

As for the exhaust pipe, consider the underside of many modern cars with much more horsepower have nearly-enclosed undersides. If the Elio is similar to any other low-power economy car, there will be insulation and/or ventilation in that rocker to keep things sub-inferno. My Honda Insight practically encloses the entire muffler. No problem.

Certainly this is the first time the front suspension is shown enclosed. [...] All this is done in the name of mileage. At my age I want to enjoy the life I have left by having a good sporty looking vehicle. The h*ll with sensible mileage. Being happy is more important to me.

Well, I'm sure the panels are removable for maintenance. And you can modify your Elio any way you like. Go nuts. But "Amazing MPG" is number one on Paul's "must haves" list. Sure you're buying the right car? You wouldn't be the first retirement-age white guy with a Corvette ya know...

 

[pistonboy]

Aren't the exposed latches just for the prototype? Wasn't there an interview with Paul talking about how he was saving a dollar on the actual conventional latch by having the hood open the right way (forward) negating the need for a safety catch?

As for the exhaust pipe, consider that the underside of many modern cars with considerably more horsepower output have nearly-enclosed undersides. If the Elio is similar to any other low-power economy car, there will be insulation and/or ventilation in that rocker to keep things under control. My Honda Insight practically encloses the entire muffler. No problem.

Well, I'm sure the panels are removable for maintenance. And you can modify your Elio any way you like. Go nuts. But "Amazing MPG" is number one on Paul's "must haves" list. Sure you're buying the right car? You wouldn't be the first retirement-age white guy with a Corvette ya know...

" Sure you're buying the right car?"

It was definitely the right car when I put the deposit down. However it will be a different car that is delivered to me.

We have all seen the P5 pictures that came from the announcement, but while we discussed the ability to get straight news from the Shreveport Times, this picture appeared on the Elio Motors Facebook page almost unnoticed.

[Broken External Image]
Take a good look at what you see and don't see...........
What looks like fully shrouded openings by the front wheels..........
The modified left side rocker panel to hide the exhaust before it exits..........
The carefully detailed Elio emblem but no pins on the hood.........
Compare it to some of the early CAD drawings of the P5.........

[Broken External Image]
Looks like the upper picture is a lot more refined than this earlier version.......

Notice the body flair around the suspension opening is gone. That would make sense if the panel was going to cover up the opening. However, if the panel was removed, it would look like a hole. We could not simply remove the panel and make it look like the P4 because that flair is gone.

 

[BlioKart]

Inboard coilovers would be cool they would be out of the air.

 

[Reid3400]

Inboard coilovers would be cool they would be out of the air.

It would be a challenge to get the axles and CV joints through that spiderweb of tubes.

 

[msmith5150]

I wouldn't put too much hard speculation into very early CAD drawings. They are releasing the basic stuff to the public, I would bet my left one that they have much more detailed renderings behind closed doors.