Ford's virtual race car comes to life, the Fordzilla P1

KUALA LUMPUR: Ford's virtual racing arm, Team Fordzilla has put on display a full-size model of its first virtual race car, the Fordzilla P1. This virtual car has an interesting backstory, Ford created it in collaboration with gamers. Nearly 250,000 gamers send approvals in the form of votes on every element from seats to the cockpit, and even on engine placement. This whole process began in March and in August the car made its virtual debut at Gameson 2020 in Germany.

Amko Leenarts, Ford’s European design director said, “We discovered that gamers make the perfect co-designers,.” He further added, “It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Gaming, especially e-sports, is all about the thrill of movement, being fast, agile, competitive and most of all being enjoyable.”

Since this car was created to race in the digital world, aspects like driver visibility and functionality took a back seat. Overall the Fordzilla P1 features a sleek design, but we don't know about its actual racing capabilities, for obvious reasons.

Coming to its virtual to reality journey, it took the designers at Team Fordzilla seven weeks to complete the process - from CAD files to a full-size car. Why so long? Well, that's because the display car featured each and every detail precisely, from jet-like canopy over the interior to an exposed rear to show the suspension, to arched fenders, it packs in all details.

The process of building the actual car started amidst the pandemic, forcing the team to work remotely with no one-one discussions or meetings. Despite all that we have amongst us the actual, real-world Fordzilla P1, looking just like the one we see on screen.

Though with no powerplant and a doubtful working canopy, we are highly impressed with what Team Forzilla was able to put up during the pandemic.

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