24 cars blue sky: What’s Right With This Picture? Indy Roadster Se7en by Zolland Design

Zolland Design AB, a Swedish graphic arts and design firm that also goes by the name Vizualtech, has rendered an Indy Roadster style body they call the IndySeven with the correct dimensions to fit on a Caterham or Lotus Seven chassis. From a design standpoint it works, but then I'm fond of Frank Kurtis' Indy Roadsters. Kurtis was one of the most prolific race car builders ever, with 120 Kurtis-Kraft cars having competed at Indy, including five race winners. From a conceptual standpoint I like it even more because it puts a clever twist on the history of the Indianapolis 500. It was Lotus, starting in 1963 and culminating with Jim Clark's win in his mid-engine Ford powered #82 Lotus 38, that changed Indy forever, sounding the death knell for the traditional front engine roadsters. The Indy roadsters' proportions work because the Lotus Seven has it's powerplant up front. It was introduced in 1957, three years before Lotus' first mid-engine racer and a full decade before the Europa, Colin Chapman's first mid-engine road car.

The renderings look great. They take one of the original wind in your hair sports cars and make it look like it would be even more fun. The original Seven has an immediately recognizable shape, but you'd never know a Seven was under these designs.

A real Indy Roadster, made by Frank Kurtis

Between the Sevens made by Lotus, those made by Caterham, and particularly the popular Locost/Se7en DIY replicas, if someone were to take Zolland Design's rendering and start selling those bodies, they just might have a ready market.

Ronnie Schreiber edits Cars In Depth, a realistic perspective on cars & car culture and the original 3D car site. If you found this post worthwhile, you can dig deeper at Cars In Depth. If the 3D thing freaks you out, don't worry, all the photo and video players in use at the site have mono options. Thanks for reading – RJS