WHY CAR ENGINEERS STEAL IDEAS FROM NATURE

Take a look at why car engineers steal design ideas from nature.

It is no secret that some cars take their aesthetics from animals and nature, think the Dodge Viper, The Volkswagen Beetle, The Mini Cooper and the 4th generation Chevrolet Camaro.

But, more importantly, what about the cars functionality and engineering as opposed to just looks?

Well, this is a topic of biomimicry, which is the design and production of materials and engineering that are modelled and reverse engineered based on biological processes.

For example, something as common in racecars as carbon fibre was based on the fibre structure pattern of the Mantis shrimp, which proved to be incredibly lightweight and almost supernaturally strong as well.

In modern-day paint, the process was derived from butterflies, believe it or not. The Metalmark butterfly, gets its colour by the physical microscopic material on its wings. Lexus used the same principle to achieve their car colour. Because of the unique micro-structure of the paint that interacts with visible light, it absorbs specific light wavelengths and allows others to pass through. For example, the blue paint they use actually doesn't have any blue pigment whatsoever, it's just reflected light.

Take a look at the video below by YouTube channel, Donut Media, on Why Car Engineers Steal Ideas From Nature.

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