Star Trek: 10 Design Secrets Behind Iconic Ships

The scrappy little ship that could, the Defiant made Star Trek history by being the first Starfleet vessel designed specifically for combat, a role that, along with its unconventional design, gave the ship an indelible mystique.

The initial design brief was for a bulked-up runabout, and designer Jim Martin complied, starting with the cockpit windows and working his way out, adding engines and weapons as he went. But producers didn’t like this, nor his subsequent designs based on more traditional Trek starships. Something entirely different was needed.

Martin then turned to a design he had used as the basis for the Maquis fighter. That design was, in turn, influenced by the Starfleet Attack Fighter, a notably starfighter-esque design which, according to fellow designer Doug Drexler, “betrayed his (Martin’s) Star Wars influences.” It was this militarized Maquis fighter concept sketch that formed the basis of the Defiant.

Following a few tweaks the design was approved and given to model-maker Tony Meininger to bring to life. But Meininger didn’t think the ship looked fast enough, so he, a car enthusiast, procured posters of Ferraris, using these as inspiration to the craft the ship’s final compact, streamlined look.

The result is a thoroughbred warship with thoroughbred supercar looks, and you could not capture the Defiant’s essence any better.