Edition #SIXTEEN
Milestone Moments: Presenting Laguna Prototype One
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The last month has seen some of Shoreline Bespoke’s most monumental achievements to date. Laguna Prototype One is complete. Our first customer saw the car last week and loved it, and the investment round is in full swing as we prepare for the next phase of our company’s growth. We took a moment to reflect on the sheer quality of our prototype and the extraordinary engineering on display, which a very talented friend did an amazing job of capturing on camera. Enjoy the video at the end of this update!
Our first look at Laguna Prototype One glinting under the California sun was a truly special moment. The devil really is in the details; we spent the last month making sure everything looked and functioned perfectly. Kyle did a fantastic job leading the 14-month build, leveraging his experience as a Director of Manufacturing in the aerospace industry. In fact, when we were building the prototype he said something that really stood out to me: “We are building this car to the same standards I became used to in aerospace. You can’t fix a satellite once it’s in orbit - it simply cannot break.”
Speaking of build quality, in the last newsletter I mentioned how easy it was to work on our prototype, having fully disassembled the car in just two days. We estimated it would take about twice as long to put back together, and sure enough it was ready for its first photoshoot five days later. The predictability of our build process confirmed we are on track for a targeted build time of 300 hours per car - a useful piece of knowledge when planning out an entire year’s worth of vehicle production.
We began our rebuild by installing the brushed aluminum interior panels, oil cooler, oil lines, radiator, and differential. The engine stayed in during the chassis treatment because it was easy to work around and it’s a little cumbersome to remove without an engine hoist. We could already tell the end-product was going to look sensational. Going from our rust-covered chassis with exposed wires to this gleaming, factory-fresh finish was a night-and-day difference. It finally looks like a new car! Our next build will incorporate more production-ready components - including carbon fiber interior panels - but this prototype already looks like a finished product.
Day two saw the installation of Laguna’s suspension, steering system, brake lines and pedals. The brake lines went in much quicker than our first build as they were already pre-formed. We also improved our technique to torque the brake lines during our second build; no issues this time! The only setback came while installing our newly trimmed wiring harness: some wires had shifted when we wrapped the harness on the workbench. Hours of massaging the wires eventually saw them return to their correct positions. The wiring itself is probably the single biggest visual upgrade we made to the car (below), after removing the rust of course!
By the end of day three, Laguna Prototype One was 80% complete. Kyle had emerged victorious from his battle with the wiring harness and I kept myself busy installing the intake system, shifter, gear linkage, seats, and axles. Our second surprise came when we discovered the axles were slightly longer than we remembered. Does not compute. Anyways, we found an easy enough fix: remove a non-functional sensor ring that was acting as a spacer between the axle and differential. New problem: our bolts that were long enough for the axle + spacer combo were too long once we removed the spacer. This naturally led to me hacksawing seven extremely strong steel bolts… ‘not a great time’ is how I would summarize that experience. Although our artisan (just go along with it) hand-finished hardware is just as strong, new bolts of the correct length have since been ordered.
Day four consisted of installing Laguna’s uprights, brakes, fuel tank, emissions equipment, and remaining plumbing. Because we removed the coolant hoses from the car as partially built sub-assemblies, we again saved time with the rebuild. A quick engine start confirmed everything had gone to plan, and a few excited neighbors popped over to see where the race car sounds were coming from.
By the end of day five we had mounted all remaining hardware: air filters for the engine, steering linkage (tie rods for us car people), and a floorpan that runs under the engine. Pete was ready to shoot video as soon as we finished!
We couldn’t wait to show Laguna Prototype One to our first customer: a prominent LA-based collector whose incredible collection contains a 1968 Porsche 910 (one of my biggest inspirations while dreaming up the Laguna). The viewing was so fun; we proudly highlighted Laguna’s engineering and design details while discussing next steps: Prototype Two development, our search for a new headquarters, and an upcoming test day. More on that soon!
In the meantime, you can visit our website to learn more about our vision for Shoreline Bespoke, reach out, and shop for apparel. By subscribing to this newsletter, you’ll be the first to know about vehicle updates, future reveals, apparel releases and more… stay tuned!
Sincerely,
Spencer Beckman
Founder & CEO, Shoreline Bespoke Vehicles