EFSedan#6
02-28-2009, 06:59 PM
Harold Martin debuted this thing. It took a while for the Pro Mod sactioning body to allow it for competition but here is.....
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/irishboozr2/DSA_8730.jpg
http://www.competitionplus.com/images/stories/february_2009/martin/martin_01.jpg
http://www.competitionplus.com/images/stories/february_2009/martin/martin_03.jpg
Pay every bit of attention to Harold Martin because he’s living out a childhood dream.
A former GM engineer, Martin used his years of experience to design his first luxury/sports car production vehicle. The racing version promises to be one slick and "futuristic" piece.
The accomplished Pro Modified driver from New Hudson, MI., has rolled out his first four production vehicles from his Martin Technologies production facility. However, it might just be the fifth car that draws the most attention for now.
The former GM engineer and electronic fuel injection pioneer will publicly debut his new 2010 Martin M4 coupe in Pro Modified competition, later this week, during an organized test session in Valdosta, Ga.
What would inspire a man to undertake a project of the magnitude of engineering a new street-driven car?
If John DeLorean, Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush can do it, Martin believes he’s fully capable of pulling off the same feat, designing and manufacturing a car that bears his name.
He’ll be the first to admit the ride hasn’t been easy to get to this point but the thrill of the hunt is half of the fun.
He’s as proud as a man can be of their team and their killer creation.
We’re not looking for a competitive advantage. We are in this to sell cars. This body will be available to others who want to buy it.
Martin unveiled the Pro Modified version of his 2010 M4 on Sunday afternoon in a private ceremony.
appetites to the challenge of building the 2010 Martin M4.
“We worked with enough projects outside of this enough to get that itch to want to do something like this,” Martin admitted.
Two years ago, Martin saw the handwriting on the wall and believed the timing would soon be right for such an endeavor if he began laying the ground work immediately. In light of developments over the last two years, his project appears to be nothing short of prophetic.
“We wanted to do it in a niche kind of a way,” Martin said. “The goal was to target more a luxury/sports car kind of buyer who was looking for something unique, new in technology, innovative in design and also had a racing flavor to it. We really want to roll out an intelligent approach with the Martin M4.”
So where does one begin in the development of a production, street-driven vehicle?
You start with the potential customers according to Martin. Then you develop and execute a survey to see what they’d like in a new car in comparison to their current high-end sports/luxury vehicle.
Martin admitted he drew inspiration from other high-end, low production manufacturer designs such as the DeLorean and the Callaway [high-end Corvette] and even went as far as to meet with Mr. Callaway for advice.
He also befriended a number of celebrities to learn their desires when it came to a luxury sports/car.
Martin also visited current auto dealers, many starving for something new to sell. He took notes of what they had to offer and what they believed was marketable.
The one point all parties unanimously agreed on was an overwhelming desire for a new car that was American made and conceived.
Martin felt the M4 was the perfect Pro Modified car from the onset. The rulebook agrees. Case in point, the IHRA rulebook has no stipulations on the number of production cars that must roll off the assembly line to be legal for the class.
Martin brought his notes home from the trip to California and threw out his biases and studied the different available eliminator opportunities within drag racing. He studied different venues and for him all roads led to one place he’s always been – Pro Modified.
Pro Modified rules dictate that a car must bear the likeness of a production model, although the rulebook doesn’t put a limit on the number of production cars a manufacturer must produce.
The flexibility and innovativeness of the class left no reason for him to consider elsewhere. Besides, there had been a Lamborghini in the class before and it was both quick and fast, not to mention a fan favorite.
He sees the same reaction from the race fans with the M4.
“Pro Modified has such exciting and different vehicles,” Martin proclaimed. “That’s the way the class has always been. That’s what attracted me to the class since its inception. The class has always such that you never could predict what was coming next.”
For Martin, the Martin M4 had to make a good race car as much as a street vehicle. Martin designed the body of the M4 with aerodynamic bodylines and a rear deck capable of accepting a large tire for racing applications.
It also had to cut through the air efficiently.
Martin and his team first developed a clay model of the M4 to ensure that it would work. They first
martin_04.jpg
Most manufacturers build a production car and adjust a racing version to the specs. Martin went in the opposite direction, designing the race car first and adapting the street car to the sleek body lines. As you can see by the rear deck, the car was built to accomodate a big tire from the start.
used a quarter-scale model before advancing to a full-size clay model that enabled them to pull the first body mold.
There were no high level engineers or designers, just the in-house staff because as Martin aptly put it, “We couldn’t afford it any other way.”
They also spent some time in the wind tunnel, a move that helped in the development of the project.
Martin considers the M4 to be a baseline and has reportedly already looked in other avenues for spin-off potential. One of those spin-offs includes an EV vehicle. EV in automotive terms means electric vehicle.
An M4 will be available in both a piston-driven or electric powered version.
Martin believes the majority of cars on the highway in the near future will be EV, capable of providing an equally potent torque curve as the conventional automobile.
“If you look into the crystal ball, the experts believe there’s a day coming when the gasoline-powered car will be in the minority,” Martin explained.
Martin added that he’s assigned one of the divisions at his Martin Technologies center to study the concept of the EV.
“I think there’s a good chance you could see it in motorsports,” Martin believes. “But, that’s well on down the road.”
Martin has already begun production of EV versions of the Martin M4.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/irishboozr2/DSA_8730.jpg
http://www.competitionplus.com/images/stories/february_2009/martin/martin_01.jpg
http://www.competitionplus.com/images/stories/february_2009/martin/martin_03.jpg
Pay every bit of attention to Harold Martin because he’s living out a childhood dream.
A former GM engineer, Martin used his years of experience to design his first luxury/sports car production vehicle. The racing version promises to be one slick and "futuristic" piece.
The accomplished Pro Modified driver from New Hudson, MI., has rolled out his first four production vehicles from his Martin Technologies production facility. However, it might just be the fifth car that draws the most attention for now.
The former GM engineer and electronic fuel injection pioneer will publicly debut his new 2010 Martin M4 coupe in Pro Modified competition, later this week, during an organized test session in Valdosta, Ga.
What would inspire a man to undertake a project of the magnitude of engineering a new street-driven car?
If John DeLorean, Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush can do it, Martin believes he’s fully capable of pulling off the same feat, designing and manufacturing a car that bears his name.
He’ll be the first to admit the ride hasn’t been easy to get to this point but the thrill of the hunt is half of the fun.
He’s as proud as a man can be of their team and their killer creation.
We’re not looking for a competitive advantage. We are in this to sell cars. This body will be available to others who want to buy it.
Martin unveiled the Pro Modified version of his 2010 M4 on Sunday afternoon in a private ceremony.
appetites to the challenge of building the 2010 Martin M4.
“We worked with enough projects outside of this enough to get that itch to want to do something like this,” Martin admitted.
Two years ago, Martin saw the handwriting on the wall and believed the timing would soon be right for such an endeavor if he began laying the ground work immediately. In light of developments over the last two years, his project appears to be nothing short of prophetic.
“We wanted to do it in a niche kind of a way,” Martin said. “The goal was to target more a luxury/sports car kind of buyer who was looking for something unique, new in technology, innovative in design and also had a racing flavor to it. We really want to roll out an intelligent approach with the Martin M4.”
So where does one begin in the development of a production, street-driven vehicle?
You start with the potential customers according to Martin. Then you develop and execute a survey to see what they’d like in a new car in comparison to their current high-end sports/luxury vehicle.
Martin admitted he drew inspiration from other high-end, low production manufacturer designs such as the DeLorean and the Callaway [high-end Corvette] and even went as far as to meet with Mr. Callaway for advice.
He also befriended a number of celebrities to learn their desires when it came to a luxury sports/car.
Martin also visited current auto dealers, many starving for something new to sell. He took notes of what they had to offer and what they believed was marketable.
The one point all parties unanimously agreed on was an overwhelming desire for a new car that was American made and conceived.
Martin felt the M4 was the perfect Pro Modified car from the onset. The rulebook agrees. Case in point, the IHRA rulebook has no stipulations on the number of production cars that must roll off the assembly line to be legal for the class.
Martin brought his notes home from the trip to California and threw out his biases and studied the different available eliminator opportunities within drag racing. He studied different venues and for him all roads led to one place he’s always been – Pro Modified.
Pro Modified rules dictate that a car must bear the likeness of a production model, although the rulebook doesn’t put a limit on the number of production cars a manufacturer must produce.
The flexibility and innovativeness of the class left no reason for him to consider elsewhere. Besides, there had been a Lamborghini in the class before and it was both quick and fast, not to mention a fan favorite.
He sees the same reaction from the race fans with the M4.
“Pro Modified has such exciting and different vehicles,” Martin proclaimed. “That’s the way the class has always been. That’s what attracted me to the class since its inception. The class has always such that you never could predict what was coming next.”
For Martin, the Martin M4 had to make a good race car as much as a street vehicle. Martin designed the body of the M4 with aerodynamic bodylines and a rear deck capable of accepting a large tire for racing applications.
It also had to cut through the air efficiently.
Martin and his team first developed a clay model of the M4 to ensure that it would work. They first
martin_04.jpg
Most manufacturers build a production car and adjust a racing version to the specs. Martin went in the opposite direction, designing the race car first and adapting the street car to the sleek body lines. As you can see by the rear deck, the car was built to accomodate a big tire from the start.
used a quarter-scale model before advancing to a full-size clay model that enabled them to pull the first body mold.
There were no high level engineers or designers, just the in-house staff because as Martin aptly put it, “We couldn’t afford it any other way.”
They also spent some time in the wind tunnel, a move that helped in the development of the project.
Martin considers the M4 to be a baseline and has reportedly already looked in other avenues for spin-off potential. One of those spin-offs includes an EV vehicle. EV in automotive terms means electric vehicle.
An M4 will be available in both a piston-driven or electric powered version.
Martin believes the majority of cars on the highway in the near future will be EV, capable of providing an equally potent torque curve as the conventional automobile.
“If you look into the crystal ball, the experts believe there’s a day coming when the gasoline-powered car will be in the minority,” Martin explained.
Martin added that he’s assigned one of the divisions at his Martin Technologies center to study the concept of the EV.
“I think there’s a good chance you could see it in motorsports,” Martin believes. “But, that’s well on down the road.”
Martin has already begun production of EV versions of the Martin M4.