Tesla Model 3 Ascension Front Fascia System (Front Bumper)

Self-Imposed Design Criteria – A DNA Match:

Everything we create starts step one from a perspective of honoring Tesla and the revolutionary DNA held within each car our product touches. We naturally want all of our work to amplify the ethos of the car, but to never lose sight of its soul. In turning the dial up with our design we always ask ourselves, is this something that would look appropriate in a Tesla showroom as a special model? If the answer is ever no, we erase the page and start over. What makes a car’s DNA is of course subjective. As Tesla owners and enthusiasts we follow our heart and aim to highlight what we love about the car first and foremost.  We then deeply consider the already-great work from Tesla’s design team, and try to place ourselves in their shoes in an effort to honor their intentions and gain perspective. Ultimately, we look for thoughts, feelings and specific ideas that mesh those two worlds. The intended result of this process is something that emulates what we feel the true potential of the Model 3 platform can become.

This process is not largely different from the first time we re-designed a Model S in 2013, making it look like the supercar we knew it could become: the platform which earned the title for the fastest 0-60mph production car in the world. We aim to create designs that represent not only what the car is, but what it will become. As a result, our Model 3 design is made with a vision of what the Model 3 can become, while delivering a design that can be installed in the present.

Technical Design Criteria – Harmony With Engineering:

The Model 3 is a masterpiece of engineering and our default stance is to require any design we make to be harmonious with the car’s engineering and functionality. Making something that looks beautiful is easy, relative to the challenge of making beauty that meshes seamlessly with a long list of “do nots”. During engineering we first evaluate what we do know; this goes back to March 31 of 2016 when we first saw the Alpha version of the car. The moment we saw the first debut we started sketching designs. This was Spring 2016. From a distance, it is easy to see general topics of where ducts, sensors and lighting is located. This produces the first round of design criteria and constraints to respect and design within. The list of design criteria expanded incrementally as we took apart production spec Model 3s. We studied how systems behind interact with the bumper, 3D scanned all of the components and began lining up how all the pieces integrate. What all of this yielded was a comprehensive list that allowed us to design something fully original yet still remaining in harmony with Tesla’s existing engineering. Of special importance to us is every day functionality, and as a result we took care to retain ducting for cooling systems, airflow management, as well as auto pilot systems, lighting and towing.

What results is our new image of an Unplugged Performance Model 3. Always respectful of Tesla’s DNA and engineering. It is Unplugged Performance’s evolution of Tesla’s revolution. Art-form created within the lines.