McLaren MP4/4.
Engineering artifact
at 1:2 scale.
Not a conventional scale model. A physically engineered object built to explore proportion, structure, material and presence at a scale where the machine begins to feel real.
Half the dimensions.
Far more than half the presence.
At approximately 2 metres long, Project 01 occupies a territory between model, sculpture and machine. The 1:2 format preserves the visual logic of the original while creating an object with genuine physical presence.
Scale becomes presence.
At 1:2, familiar Formula One proportions stop reading as a miniature. Wheels become substantial objects, suspension members acquire mechanical weight and the bodywork begins to occupy space like a real machine.
When CAD is not enough.
The digital model established the architecture, but the final decisions came through making. Edges, surfaces, stance and relationships between components were refined on the physical object.
The visual language is structural.
Suspension geometry, wheel position, aerodynamic surfaces and the narrow central body are not decorative details. They define the character of the object and had to work together as a coherent physical assembly.
Built as an object,
not enlarged as a model.
Project 01 combines composite skins, structural cores, 3D-printed components and fabricated metal details. Each material is used for what it does best: shape, stiffness, surface, precision or mechanical credibility.
The artifact is understood up close.
Surface transitions, mechanical joints, tyres, cockpit edges and hand-finished components carry the same importance as the overall silhouette.
Components with their own physical presence.
At this scale the tyres cease to be small accessories. Their mass, width, lettering and surface become defining elements of the artifact.
The final object exists in physical space.
Project 01 is photographed as a real artifact. Light reacts to actual surfaces, tyres carry weight and every viewpoint reveals the consequences of physical construction.
