I joined this project because Enim Metz Racing Team is part of my engineering school. In fact, I am graduating with my degree this year, in 2025. To finish my studies on a high note, I teamed up to create a reveal for their latest car!
For the rest of this page, I will present all the details about this trailer and explain how it was created from start to finish. So, let’s dive into the main subject and enjoy the exploration.
What is EMRT?
It’s a French Formula Student team from ENIM (École Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Metz), the first French team in the competition. For February 2025, they have announced their newest car. Each year, a reveal has to be made, and this time, I had the opportunity to work on it.
The name of this car is Hermès, an electric vehicle powered by two electric motors, one on each rear tire.
The begining and problems…
EMRT had to finalize their CAD (Computer-Aided Design) model by December so that I could start working on it with my software as soon as possible, as the reveal was planned for the beginning of February.
For this project, no retopology was possible due to time constraints. As a result, I had to work with a challenging topology and tackle one of the most difficult UV unwrapping tasks I’ve ever done.
After receiving the 3D model, I used the fastest method to achieve good textures, mostly procedural to compensate for the CAD topology. Except for the tires, where I challenged myself by recreating them entirely from real-life pictures I took. I wanted to capture as much detail as possible and to be the most time efficient, so I relied on these images to reproduce all the imperfections in 3D. After all, nothing is more realistic than reality itself.
3D model preparation
The tires were the easiest step in the 3D model preparation. Since the team had sent me the full CAD model, I had to apply textures to every single object. The process was long but also very satisfying, as I watched the details gradually come to life, step by step.
The team was divided into different departments to work on the entire car, including Frame, Powertrain, Aerodynamics, Undercariage, and Electric. For each of them, I created different display videos for the reveal.
This process helped me a lot in applying all the colors and textures to the car. It was definitely the best approach I could have taken, as it saved a lot of time and effort.
On the right, you can see the Electric department’s section, the big yellow block in kevlar is the battery.
Here is the Aerodynamics department’s section. The biggest innovation is the ground effect, similar to what is used in Formula 1 cars.
Everything is made of carbon, because carbon is life.
Now, it’s time for the Powertrain department, which is also closely linked to the Electrical department. This assembly will be positioned on each side of the car, powering the rear wheels.
Finally, the Undercarriage department. This is what keeps the car firmly attached to the ground. Without it, you can’t expect good performance.
Base completed
The 3D model is now complete, featuring an incredible carbon fiber look, it even has a bit of a Batman spirit to it.
But now comes a crucial step, creating the livery and applying it to the 3D car.
Livery design
The next task was the livery design, which was created by Nico Barclay, a talented livery designer. He crafted several designs from the side view of the vehicle to provide as many proposals as possible.
The design that received the most attention was the first one, featuring French flag colors and a striking side line on the car. It was the perfect blend of elements for this team.
By adding elements like the « Graouly, » a legendary dragon from Metz, along with other small details, the livery design was finalized.
Thanks to Nico Barclay’s work, I could now apply the livery to the 3D model.
By adding all the sponsors and fine details to the 3D model, the final car was completed. This step elevated the model by 100%, making the car look truly stunning.
So now, it’s up to the team to bring it to life and make it as close as possible to the renders.
Reveal animation process
It’s now time to work on the reveal animation, which is divided into three parts: the intro, where only a few details of the car can be seen; the drop, when the full car is revealed; and the outro, which serves as the final showcase.
All this mess on the right is the scene setup with cameras for different angles of view.
Basically, the scene consists of just a plane, a cylinder, and lights.
Some lights begin glowing, and the fans start spinning, signaling that the car is ready to escape from its cage.
During the intro, the main color was blue. To add more energy to the reveal, a red color was introduced during a small drop in the music.
Then the drop…
And to finish … French flag colors !
Small bonus !
I created this helmet design as a bonus project. It’s not intended to be part of the final reveal, but rather a small gift I made for them!
What’s next?
For the ENIM Metz Racing Team, it’s now their turn to bring the car to life. They have all the keys to succeed.
An update will be published after this section in June 2025, featuring the real thing! 🚀
To follow the Enim Metz Racing Team
Thanks for reading all of this or just observing the images, I hope you enjoyed, see you next time.
Alexandre GOURAUD 