| Written by Bobby Bennett Wednesday, 25 February 2009 16:54 |
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| HAROLD MARTIN: THE M4, A DREAM REALIZED | ||||
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Former GM Engineer and Pro Modified Veteran Enters A New Realm of Technology …
A former GM engineer, Martin used his years of experience to design his first luxury/sports car production vehicle. The racing version promises to be one slick and "futuristic" piece.
The accomplished Pro Modified driver from New Hudson, MI., has rolled out his first four production vehicles from his Martin Technologies production facility. However, it might just be the fifth car that draws the most attention for now. The former GM engineer and electronic fuel injection pioneer will publicly debut his new 2010 Martin M4 coupe in Pro Modified competition, later this week, during an organized test session in Valdosta, Ga. What would inspire a man to undertake a project of the magnitude of engineering a new street-driven car? If John DeLorean, Carroll Shelby and Jack Roush can do it, Martin believes he’s fully capable of pulling off the same feat, designing and manufacturing a car that bears his name. He’ll be the first to admit the ride hasn’t been easy to get to this point but the thrill of the hunt is half of the fun. He’s as proud as a man can be of their team and their killer creation.
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Martin unveiled the Pro Modified version of his 2010 M4 on Sunday afternoon in a private ceremony.
“We worked with enough projects outside of this enough to get that itch to want to do something like this,” Martin admitted. Two years ago, Martin saw the handwriting on the wall and believed the timing would soon be right for such an endeavor if he began laying the ground work immediately. In light of developments over the last two years, his project appears to be nothing short of prophetic. “We wanted to do it in a niche kind of a way,” Martin said. “The goal was to target more a luxury/sports car kind of buyer who was looking for something unique, new in technology, innovative in design and also had a racing flavor to it. We really want to roll out an intelligent approach with the Martin M4.” So where does one begin in the development of a production, street-driven vehicle? You start with the potential customers according to Martin. Then you develop and execute a survey to see what they’d like in a new car in comparison to their current high-end sports/luxury vehicle. Martin admitted he drew inspiration from other high-end, low production manufacturer designs such as the DeLorean and the Callaway [high-end Corvette] and even went as far as to meet with Mr. Callaway for advice. He also befriended a number of celebrities to learn their desires when it came to a luxury sports/car. Martin also visited current auto dealers, many starving for something new to sell. He took notes of what they had to offer and what they believed was marketable. The one point all parties unanimously agreed on was an overwhelming desire for a new car that was American made and conceived.
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Martin felt the M4 was the perfect Pro Modified car from the onset. The rulebook agrees. Case in point, the IHRA rulebook has no stipulations on the number of production cars that must roll off the assembly line to be legal for the class.
Pro Modified rules dictate that a car must bear the likeness of a production model, although the rulebook doesn’t put a limit on the number of production cars a manufacturer must produce. The flexibility and innovativeness of the class left no reason for him to consider elsewhere. Besides, there had been a Lamborghini in the class before and it was both quick and fast, not to mention a fan favorite. He sees the same reaction from the race fans with the M4. “Pro Modified has such exciting and different vehicles,” Martin proclaimed. “That’s the way the class has always been. That’s what attracted me to the class since its inception. The class has always such that you never could predict what was coming next.” For Martin, the Martin M4 had to make a good race car as much as a street vehicle. Martin designed the body of the M4 with aerodynamic bodylines and a rear deck capable of accepting a large tire for racing applications. It also had to cut through the air efficiently.
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Most manufacturers build a production car and adjust a racing version to the specs. Martin went in the opposite direction, designing the race car first and adapting the street car to the sleek body lines. As you can see by the rear deck, the car was built to accomodate a big tire from the start.
There were no high level engineers or designers, just the in-house staff because as Martin aptly put it, “We couldn’t afford it any other way.” They also spent some time in the wind tunnel, a move that helped in the development of the project. Martin considers the M4 to be a baseline and has reportedly already looked in other avenues for spin-off potential. One of those spin-offs includes an EV vehicle. EV in automotive terms means electric vehicle. An M4 will be available in both a piston-driven or electric powered version. Martin believes the majority of cars on the highway in the near future will be EV, capable of providing an equally potent torque curve as the conventional automobile. “If you look into the crystal ball, the experts believe there’s a day coming when the gasoline-powered car will be in the minority,” Martin explained. Martin added that he’s assigned one of the divisions at his Martin Technologies center to study the concept of the EV. “I think there’s a good chance you could see it in motorsports,” Martin believes. “But, that’s well on down the road.” Martin has already begun production of EV versions of the Martin M4.
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Martin's ribbon-butting on Sunday was more than just introducing a new car. It was nothing short of realizing a dream.
Martin knows that time will tell on those kinds of aspirations but they sure do make for a bright future. ”That was a part of the vision … creating excitement around the vehicle so that it could be synergistic to our motorsports world,” Martin explained. “I envisioned this as being a win-win for us all.” The drag racing community has been on fire with numerous message board rumors suggesting the ADRL rejected the car upon seeing the first rendering. Martin told CompetitionPlus.com that is absolutely false. “We’re not looking for a competitive advantage,” Martin counseled. “We are in this to sell cars. This body will be available to others who want to buy it.” The more cars on the race track will enable a small company of car crafters to expand their marketability, at least that’s how Martin sees it. Martin isn’t so naïve that he believes everyone will welcome the innovation. He will be the first to admit from experience that innovation brings skepticism and concern more times than not. “Everyone has apprehensions when you share something new,” Martin said. “I’m used to all of that. My whole career I’ve spent developing new things. My 20 patents have had apprehension and concern.”
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Martin knows that even the small markets can inspire national markets. 
“We can no longer wait for the giants of the automotive industry to be the sole answer.” - Harold Martin
“When you look at the current [economic] climate a lot of the companies I have worked with over the years have had to change their business approach in motorsports,” Martin said of his decision to use drag racing as a marketing tool. “As they reconstruct their companies, who knows how long it will be before they are able to return to motorsports and if it will be what it used to be.” “We can no longer wait for the giants of the automotive industry to be the sole answer.” Martin’s answer is the Martin M4. “I think this car sends a message that you don’t have to have all of the large studios and the expensive scientific capabilities to do something of this nature,” he explained. “You just have to have a dream and be willing to take some risks. “We have the hope and prayer that this can be a positive and motivational message at the races and for consumers, as well as for our country.” Maybe one of Detroit’s own can inspire an automotive revolution – a kid who grew up studying an industry and believing he could make a difference. Martin’s M4 is the difference of which he dreamed.
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