Rather mysteriously titled the SDAP, this little concept car from Mexico-based designer E. Maximiliano Salas was designed to be equal parts exotic and enigmatic… although its 80s automotive references are all too common. With pop-up headlights that are a grand reference to a bygone era of supercars, the SDAP has a little Countach and Diablo, and a little ’84 F40 mixed into it, making it quite the eclectic beast. The dark-ish rendering isn’t by accident either, Salas wanted his unusual concept to have a little waiting-in-the-shadows vibe to it, harking back to yet another phenomenon of the 80s, the reveal of the time-traveling DeLorean in the film Back To The Future.
Designer: E. Maximiliano Salas
Salas’ design doesn’t give us much to work with as far as a text description goes, but the images speak a lot for themselves. In trying to modernize the Countach and F40, Salas took the route that most modern cars tend to take with their design – a minimal approach with form and color, giving the car a certain raw, edgy, cyberpunkish appeal. I wouldn’t outright say that the car is trying to be a lithe version of a Cybertruck, but the silver body, the use of prominent edge lines, ad that flat rear with the LED-strip taillight says otherwise. In a lot of ways the rear references the F40’s flat rear surface, while the front boasts of concealed pop-up headlights that feel like a spiritual successor to the F40 and the Countach. That logo on the hood also looks rather a lot like the aforementioned brands too.
What catches my eye instantly is the car’s surfacing, which definitely feels modern more than anything. SDAP’s contours are MUCH more refined and tight, almost looking like a wind tunnel test was brought to life. That side profile is perhaps the most beautiful part of the car, with how the waistline moves from the front to the back. The front has a signature wedge shape that obviously gets resolved as you reach the first wheel. However, the line then curves downwards just to tease the viewer, and then upwards finally before trailing off at the end. Even in the render below, you can clearly see the two edge lines on the hood moving backward and taking a beautiful dramatic curve near the windshield. Sure, there isn’t an abundance of accent lines, cutouts, vents, or any extraneous details on the SDAP. It’s minimalist in almost every sense, yet it does a phenomenal job with what it has, resulting in a car that definitely looks like a modern take on the Countach or the 1984 Ferrari F40.
