Here's a project ID firms dream of landing, no pun intended: Help flesh out a flying car concept that can be used to pitch investors. Detroit-based Sundberg-Ferar was hired by startup LuftCar to do just that.

"LuftCar, a USA-based startup, is developing a true flying car that works both as an eVTOL vehicle and road vehicle. This transitional category is affected by both automotive & aerospace constraints and regulations."

"Luftcar had an initial CAD model developed for rough form factor and basic functionality, but they needed a design studio with experience in both aerospace and automotive design to elevate the maturity and realism of their concept for investor pitching and funding rounds. This startup chose Sundberg-Ferar because of their unique expertise in developing road-worthy vehicle designs, surface development for optimal aerodynamics, and solutions that hold up to regulatory requirements."

"After significant design work was underway, LuftCar realized that due to competitive pressures and investor needs, they needed to find a way to add more storage space to their concept."

"Sundberg-Ferar is no stranger to the fast-pace and shifting goals of the venture build ecosystem. The team's ability to adapt their design expertise to a new challenge and optimize existing work allows us to bring the value of nimbleness and agility to small and large clients alike."

"The team pivoted to meet LuftCar's evolving goals while maintaining their timeline. In this case, we executed a scope change adapting the design to a new vehicle package that would meet cargo requirements. Because of this flexibility, LuftCar was still speeded on their path to market despite the pivot with a realistic design that met key specs."

"In addition to this, Sundberg-Ferar's work on the project included auditing the design of the existing solution, executing a design benchmarking study, creating advanced styling concepts of both wing body and van body, and design integration of both bodies for optimized aerodynamics and air-worthiness."

Human Impact

"By evolving the design to use a real vehicle package, and by refining a modular strategy to separate and connect the two bodies for air and ground use, Sundberg-Ferar helped create more realistic parameters for the vehicle, while also achieving LuftCar's cargo storage capacity goals. These design changes advance LuftCar's mission to be a seamless first-mid-last mile logistics solution with the potential to create efficiencies and alleviate pain points for logistics supply chain stakeholders. This platform also leverages EV technology, making it a sought-after option to decrease environmental impact."

Business Impact

"LuftCar is now one step closer to their funding goals as a result of leveraging Sundberg-Ferar's understanding and experience to design for the real-world parameters of the vehicle's intended use case. Showcasing a solution that meets key cargo capacity goals and builds credibility in both automotive and aerospace sectors enables LuftCar to gain more investor trust and funding momentum."