CAR2CAN / 2019
ANHEUSER BUSCH, Daytona 500
Carbon Fiber, Resin, Steel, Screen Printing 5”H x 2-3/4” Dia.
So . . . well, we were asked to cut up a NASCAR race car (Kevin Harvick’s specifically) and make it into 40 collectors edition beer cans as a promotional giveaway during the Daytona 500. While you may be asking yourself ‘why?’, the process to turn - recycle in fact - a race car into a collectable involved some complex engineering solutions which tickled our fancy. Don’t take our word for it, the race fans were thrilled with the outcome! The video does a better job explaining, just watch.
Design | Engineering | Brand Development | Project Management
*In collaboration with DEUTSCH
Don’t turn right!
. . . ‘cause you’ll crash. We learned that from Kevin Harvick himself. We also learned that draw-forming sheet metal from a race car is tricky business. Turns out the alloys that make the panels suitable for high performance racing are problematic for standard intervals of draw-forming. The nuanced precision and pressure tolerances had to be refined before we were able to get the 4+ inch material draw we required.
Recycling Is Hard.
But recycling carbon fiber is unheard of! Or so we thought. After hours and hours of research we were on the brink of giving up when lo and behold, the great state of Tennessee came to the rescue (technically it was Connecticut too but that’s not as fun. Plus, what’s the deal with their “package stores”?!)!! Through a highly complex process, the carbon fibers were extracted from existing panels/scraps/parts, repurposed with virgin fiber and impregnated with resin to create new material. Science, ya know?
“This Nascar car was turned into beer cans to make a point about recycling”
- Fast Company