ARASH AFX: The new beast in the town

ARASH AFX: Introduction

ARASH AFX will be the company’s first foray into electrification. Arash Farbound founded Arash Motor Company in 1999 in Newmarket, UK, with the goal of becoming a small volume sports car manufacturer. The company currently manufactures the AF10 and AF8, both of which use internal combustion engines. The project began in late August, led by Saurabh Shah, Senior Digital Designer, and Arash Farboud, the project’s founder.

The team consisted of six Coventry University graduates, each with their own set of skills required to turn a 2D sketch into a digital model: The remaining members of the team are Amena Adrwish(Exterior/Interior Design Visualization), Adam Nicholson (Alias, Visualisation), Arun Roebuck (Alias), John Gallop (Exterior/Interior Design), Shreya Sakar Malla (Alias), Youki Kotani (Exterior/Interior Design).

Design: ARASH AFX

Because the exterior was already partially finished when the project began, only the front and rear end designs were negotiable. The interior, on the other hand, was a blank canvas, allowing the designers to experiment with various volumes and executions.

Ultimately, a design direction for both the exterior and interior was chosen, primarily with the goal of creating a distinct, technical aesthetic that places the driver as the primary focus. The hexagonal shroud that surrounds the steering unit takes advantage of the generous length of the dashboard, while the massive opening next to it displays the diagonal crossbeam intersecting with the steering column; a visual identity that can be seen from the outside.

The interior reveals a different character, albeit unmistakably an AFX—the cockpit places the driver in the centre, with controls focused around the brightly coloured seat, designed to visually integrate with the floor to create a sense of increased proximity between the chassis and the driver. The Lotus Evija-inspired steering wheel controls are strategically placed to allow the driver to focus on the driving, while the Aim MXS Dash Logger integrated into the steering displays relevant information for the driver. The display unit was purposefully left unintegrated in order to achieve a unique floating effect.

The project can be followed on Instagram via the official Arash Motor Page

About Designers

Adam Nicholson has joined Jaguar-Land Rover’s visualisation department, where he will work on a variety of softwares and tasks such as material creation, rendering, texturing, compositing, and post-production. His recent use of Unreal Engine will contribute to the JLR team’s ongoing investigation of the program’s application and benefits in the automotive industry.

Youki Kotani is currently employed as a Junior Designer at Astheimer Design, where he has been since January 2022. Before being chosen to work on the Arash AFX, he studied BA Automotive Design at Coventry University. He was born in Hiroshima, Japan, and grew up in the same city where Mazda has its headquarters, so it was only natural for him to pursue a career as a professional car designer.