For when your Tires are Tired

The Le Mans 2030 concept for the Michelin Design challenge brings focus to something most transportation designers take for granted. The wheel. David Voltner re-imagines the design and construction of the wheel for racing applications. Its layered approach allows you to physically see and gauge damage done to a wheel during racing. The four colored layers showcase the four different stages of wear and tear. The pit-crew can then immediately tell if a wheel needs replacing by just looking out for color cues on the wheel’s surface.

Admitted that with time, dirt and grease will make all the colors look nearly similar, but imagine the applications of this sort of technology! With some wondrous material engineering, we can actually have tire designs that allow us to get a visually accurate representation of wear and tear! And here I wonder why no one’s ever developed something like on a large scale this before!

Designer: David Voltner

Sarang Sheth

Sarang is the co-editor in chief of Yanko Design. He is a former industrial designer at a Bangalore-based multidisciplinary design studio, working in areas including appliances, FMCG, packaging, technology, luxury, etc. Sarang has written about design and technology for over a decade and has been a jury member on international design awards. He occasionally works on tech concepts featured on Forbes, The Verge, Hypebeast, Digital Trends, SlashGear, Tom's Guide, LetsGoDigital, and Unbox Therapy. Sarang graduated from MIT Institute of Design, Pune.

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