Shuttle car

Jakob Hirzel, a transport design student at Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences, Germany, invented a car model called Silbervogel, whose shape can minimize drag.

The Silbervogel is aerodynamically shaped to minimize drag.(Photo: TOFT)

The car will participate in the Xtreme Gravity Series Contest, taking place in Irvine, California in the near future. This is a charitable race organized for the American Action Fund for Children. Under the rules of the race, participating cars can only weigh up to 40 kg, which can be up to 2.4 meters long.

The carbon-structured Silbervogel can support heavy loads and thin rims, making it very light. The driver enters the car through the removable top part. The lower part of the car is transparent, the top is silver and a strip of glass runs from the nose to the back.

"Every detail is optimized to minimize drag. This is also applied to the overall shape of the car," Hirzel said.