Practical 400kg sports car
Discussion
After 5 years of Fisher Fury R1 ownership (since I built it), I've started thinking about what I could replace it with and come to the conclusion that a bespoke build is the only way to go. My Fisher Fury R1 ( http://www.robcollingridge.com/FuryR1/ ) weighs 450Kg with half a tank of fuel and has about 160bhp. It's road legal but has no doors, windscreen, heater, reverse gear, etc.
I'm looking to get down to 400Kg and add some more practicality this time though and have started capturing my thoughts here: http://www.robcollingridge.com/400kg/
Does anything close to this exist already though? I'm not including 'open wheel' designs like the Caterham 7. It has to have full bodywork and 2 seats.
This is roughly what I'm planning:
Rob
I'm looking to get down to 400Kg and add some more practicality this time though and have started capturing my thoughts here: http://www.robcollingridge.com/400kg/
Does anything close to this exist already though? I'm not including 'open wheel' designs like the Caterham 7. It has to have full bodywork and 2 seats.
This is roughly what I'm planning:
Rob
I'm not aware of anything similar exisiting atm.
FreeLitres said:
This VERY similar design weighs over 1000 Kg.
How will yours be half the weight?
There are some heavy bits on a TVR, that interior and all that glass for a start. How will yours be half the weight?
Although my Locost weighs 530kg, (with ballast, full cage, extinguisher, iron crossflow) 400kg can be done but will be difficult to achieve.
Lightweight chassis, aluminium honeycomb perhaps.
No interior trim whatsoever. CF seats or even just strategic padding.
Minimal size electronic instruments.
No screen (so no heater etc)
Small engine and gearbox, possibly bike.
Race weight panels that crack if a wasp leans on them
Lightweight 13" alloy wheels with tiny brakes.
Some of the 750 racers are ballasted to 350kg and there's a 300kg all alloy bike engined Locost out there. Westfield had a 400kg K series car too.
Personally I can't see it would be very practical.
This is very cool. I don't have any expertise to offer but I love the idea of such DIY projects - and I hope to do the same thing in the future!
I didn't realise fishers were so light! it'll be tough to hit that target with your own design - i suppose a lot of it comes down to materials used but also surely there are savings to be made through component design. I guess if you have the money and time anything can be possible
a big undertaking but I'm very envious, best of luck and keep us updated!
I didn't realise fishers were so light! it'll be tough to hit that target with your own design - i suppose a lot of it comes down to materials used but also surely there are savings to be made through component design. I guess if you have the money and time anything can be possible
a big undertaking but I'm very envious, best of luck and keep us updated!
"OK, maybe I should define what I mean by practical. It will be more practical than my Fury in that it will have a windscreen (but no doors). Also planning a removable hardtop (not included in my 400Kg target). It will require a reverse gear this time to pass the new IVA test. Also plan to have a more spacious cockpit but, the overall size of this car will be tiny and like my Fury R1 it will be smaller than a Lotus Elan.
I'm planning carbon fibre shell seats which I consider comfortable and practical. There will be no doors, heater, or modern comforts. There will be no dash, just an instrument binacle over the steering wheel. Bodywork will be very thin and light. It will be bike-engined again. 13" wheels are assumed with Wilwood calipers and I will use 7mm thick discs as used in my Fisher Fury.
By practical, I guess I mean usable in all weathers. My Fury R1 is very much a dry weather car. Think Lotus Elise practical but much, much lighter.
I'm planning carbon fibre shell seats which I consider comfortable and practical. There will be no doors, heater, or modern comforts. There will be no dash, just an instrument binacle over the steering wheel. Bodywork will be very thin and light. It will be bike-engined again. 13" wheels are assumed with Wilwood calipers and I will use 7mm thick discs as used in my Fisher Fury.
By practical, I guess I mean usable in all weathers. My Fury R1 is very much a dry weather car. Think Lotus Elise practical but much, much lighter.
robcollingridge said:
OK, maybe I should define what I mean by practical. It will be more practical than my Fury in that it will have a windscreen (but no doors).
The snag with a windscreen is you need pillars to support it, plus an "effective" heater/blower mechanism if the screen itself isn't electrically heated. This all adds weight.Yes, carbon or grp seats can be very comfortable if the right shape.
robcollingridge said:
OK, maybe I should define what I mean by practical. It will be more practical than my Fury in that it will have a windscreen (but no doors). Also planning a removable hardtop (not included in my 400Kg target). It will require a reverse gear this time to pass the new IVA test. Also plan to have a more spacious cockpit but, the overall size of this car will be tiny and like my Fury R1 it will be smaller than a Lotus Elan.
I'm planning carbon fibre shell seats which I consider comfortable and practical. There will be no doors, heater, or modern comforts. There will be no dash, just an instrument binacle over the steering wheel. Bodywork will be very thin and light. It will be bike-engined again. 13" wheels are assumed with Wilwood calipers and I will use 7mm thick discs as used in my Fisher Fury.
By practical, I guess I mean usable in all weathers. My Fury R1 is very much a dry weather car. Think Lotus Elise practical but much, much lighter.
If it has no doors how will you get in and out with the hardtop on?I'm planning carbon fibre shell seats which I consider comfortable and practical. There will be no doors, heater, or modern comforts. There will be no dash, just an instrument binacle over the steering wheel. Bodywork will be very thin and light. It will be bike-engined again. 13" wheels are assumed with Wilwood calipers and I will use 7mm thick discs as used in my Fisher Fury.
By practical, I guess I mean usable in all weathers. My Fury R1 is very much a dry weather car. Think Lotus Elise practical but much, much lighter.
robcollingridge said:
OK, maybe I should define what I mean by practical. It will be more practical than my Fury in that it will have a windscreen (but no doors). Also planning a removable hardtop (not included in my 400Kg target). It will require a reverse gear this time to pass the new IVA test. Also plan to have a more spacious cockpit but, the overall size of this car will be tiny and like my Fury R1 it will be smaller than a Lotus Elan.
I'm planning carbon fibre shell seats which I consider comfortable and practical. There will be no doors, heater, or modern comforts. There will be no dash, just an instrument binacle over the steering wheel. Bodywork will be very thin and light. It will be bike-engined again. 13" wheels are assumed with Wilwood calipers and I will use 7mm thick discs as used in my Fisher Fury.
By practical, I guess I mean usable in all weathers. My Fury R1 is very much a dry weather car. Think Lotus Elise practical but much, much lighter.
At that weight I would look at using bike rotors and callipers with a bespoke mounting bracket instead of willwoods. I would also look at something like a Rial wheel at 4.9kg http://www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk/rial-challenge-1... as a good balance of price vs weight.I'm planning carbon fibre shell seats which I consider comfortable and practical. There will be no doors, heater, or modern comforts. There will be no dash, just an instrument binacle over the steering wheel. Bodywork will be very thin and light. It will be bike-engined again. 13" wheels are assumed with Wilwood calipers and I will use 7mm thick discs as used in my Fisher Fury.
By practical, I guess I mean usable in all weathers. My Fury R1 is very much a dry weather car. Think Lotus Elise practical but much, much lighter.
I would also investigate getting the chassis made out of magnesium tubing which would save a fair amount of weight. We had a tandem MTB frame made up by a Russian company called Litech for a still-born project. Incredibly light compared to steel and ally, and superb inherent vibration damping properties. This was about 8 years ago and at the time they were looking for ways to diversify. They or another eastern European ex-aerospace company may be interested in producing it for you??
I'd also investigate using polycarb for the body instead of GRP. In your design the curves are pretty gentle and I would imagine you could probably produce a vac form buck without too many problems.
Interesting project.
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?
Wow, there really isn't much to that. Not too practical though! 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?
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?
Wow, that is very, very cool.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?
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