Practical 400kg sports car
Discussion
posting to bookmark, i am definitely interested.
bought a fully built 7esque car which is just about the have a minor overhaul. each time i look at it i see areas where i want to improve, and i want to build something myself next year as a precursor to doing a full restoration / dream build.
the sylva was something i loved as a kid but looks awkward in some areas. however 450kg is fantastic, much lighter than my 7. have bookmarked your site to read on the plane tomorrow.
PS - i am a design engineer and have been producing bespoke parts for a race car [the 120D in reader's cars] as well as my 7. i can also have fabrication done for free. just sayin'
bought a fully built 7esque car which is just about the have a minor overhaul. each time i look at it i see areas where i want to improve, and i want to build something myself next year as a precursor to doing a full restoration / dream build.
the sylva was something i loved as a kid but looks awkward in some areas. however 450kg is fantastic, much lighter than my 7. have bookmarked your site to read on the plane tomorrow.
PS - i am a design engineer and have been producing bespoke parts for a race car [the 120D in reader's cars] as well as my 7. i can also have fabrication done for free. just sayin'
FreeLitres said:
This VERY similar design weighs over 1000 Kg. (TVR Griffith)
How will yours be half the weight?
Sub-600kg kit cars are ten-a-penny. My Caterham was 520kg with a full screen and a car engine (as opposed to a bike one). How will yours be half the weight?
Edited by FreeLitres on Sunday 8th July 11:52
The MEV Atomic does look great. Chatting to the guys at Exeter Kit Car show a while back it also sounds really straightforward to build.
On a similar note, what about the Sylva R1OT? Aren't they also very light?
xRIEx said:
For comparison, the R1-powered MEV Atomic weighs a claimed 334kg
Minimal bodywork, small plastic flyscreen, no roof, one seat and half a floor.
It's an impressive ambition, but adding practicality is going to add weight. What materials are you planning to use to keep the weight down?
Looks awesome but there is no way i could live with the guilt of eating breakfast before getting in it. Minimal bodywork, small plastic flyscreen, no roof, one seat and half a floor.
It's an impressive ambition, but adding practicality is going to add weight. What materials are you planning to use to keep the weight down?
Crikey, loads of questions. Don't you guys watch the F1? ;-)
Like I said, my Fisher Fury R1 is my benchmark and starting point. It weighed 450.5Kg when it was corner weighted a few years back and various upgrades since have reduce this weight.
This project is about progressing to something lighter but still road-legal and with 2 seats and still with full bodywork. I think that I can make it slightly more practical by adding a windscreen (also removable) and a removable hard door with gull-wing roof panels to enable access. This latter part is not included in my 400Kg target. There will be no doors on this car as this will make the 400Kg target unreachable.
If I wanted and open-wheel, minimal bodywork design, then I would have have built a Syvla R1ot or Sylva/RAW Striker to start with. Beyond that, I considered a single seater design. This isn't what I want though.
Most of the questions posed can are answered in the detailed design sections on my project website:
http://www.robcollingridge.com/400kg/design/index....
My 450Kg Fisher Fury R1 cost about £12,500 to build five years ago and features no carbon fibre components at all. It also uses some quite heavy engineering, reusing parts from the Ford Sierra, Ford Escort Mk II and Lotus Elise. Whilst building it, I weighed everything that went on the car.
I know I can hit 400Kg with a similar car and moving to a mid-engined configuration will help in this. This new car will feature quite a lot of carbon fibre and the costs will more than double because of this. I'm also planning some innovative (innovation is my day job) solutions to aspects of the car.
1. All the instrumentation and switch gear will be bespoke and extremely light weight.
2. I did a custom wiring loom in my Fury. I can halve the weight of this in this car by clever use of electronics.
3. I'm planning to use clever design of 3D printed parts to reduce weight.
I've revisited every component I used in my Fisher Fury and in all cases, I can reduce the weight or eliminate parts altogether. Against this, I have to add the weight of the windscreen, wipers, screen demister and a reverse mechansim.
Rob
Like I said, my Fisher Fury R1 is my benchmark and starting point. It weighed 450.5Kg when it was corner weighted a few years back and various upgrades since have reduce this weight.
This project is about progressing to something lighter but still road-legal and with 2 seats and still with full bodywork. I think that I can make it slightly more practical by adding a windscreen (also removable) and a removable hard door with gull-wing roof panels to enable access. This latter part is not included in my 400Kg target. There will be no doors on this car as this will make the 400Kg target unreachable.
If I wanted and open-wheel, minimal bodywork design, then I would have have built a Syvla R1ot or Sylva/RAW Striker to start with. Beyond that, I considered a single seater design. This isn't what I want though.
Most of the questions posed can are answered in the detailed design sections on my project website:
http://www.robcollingridge.com/400kg/design/index....
My 450Kg Fisher Fury R1 cost about £12,500 to build five years ago and features no carbon fibre components at all. It also uses some quite heavy engineering, reusing parts from the Ford Sierra, Ford Escort Mk II and Lotus Elise. Whilst building it, I weighed everything that went on the car.
I know I can hit 400Kg with a similar car and moving to a mid-engined configuration will help in this. This new car will feature quite a lot of carbon fibre and the costs will more than double because of this. I'm also planning some innovative (innovation is my day job) solutions to aspects of the car.
1. All the instrumentation and switch gear will be bespoke and extremely light weight.
2. I did a custom wiring loom in my Fury. I can halve the weight of this in this car by clever use of electronics.
3. I'm planning to use clever design of 3D printed parts to reduce weight.
I've revisited every component I used in my Fisher Fury and in all cases, I can reduce the weight or eliminate parts altogether. Against this, I have to add the weight of the windscreen, wipers, screen demister and a reverse mechansim.
Rob
If you're willing to have something significantly uglier...
I had this trike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeBJjVwq1Co
that was made using Aerolam aircraft flooring.
Fantastic stuff very light and very strong.
When I owned it (without the wing) IIRC it weighed 292kg with a GSXR 1100 engine
So you should be able to make a more practical version below 400kg
I had this trike
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeBJjVwq1Co
that was made using Aerolam aircraft flooring.
Fantastic stuff very light and very strong.
When I owned it (without the wing) IIRC it weighed 292kg with a GSXR 1100 engine
So you should be able to make a more practical version below 400kg
If you could make something that could take a conventional 4-cyl engine and in-line box, that was faithful to the pic in your OP, and weighed-in at even 600-650Kgs, I might buy one off you. That looks fabulous, and I reckon would be good-enough at that weight. Sort of a small TVR. Put a VAG 1.8T engine in it at 280-300bhp (with modifications) and a Drenth box, and it'd fly.
Scuffers said:
Watchman said:
Put a VAG 1.8T engine
you realise how much they weigh in at? (Good old iron block)(It might be a more usable road car though).
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