The Coolest Race Car EVER - Portland

[cchyper]

One of my buddies from HRA (honda research of america) sent me this link to a contract engineer based in portland. "Random Research" on his personal site he has the coolest most amazingly well desgined and constructed awd, BEAST of a track car. This thing is what i have been dreaming about. A little pricey, but most likely worth it. Check out the whole build process and specs here


http://dpcars.aprsworld.com/
> click on the DP1 race car on the left table and enjoy.
- Go here first

http://dpcars.aprsworld.com/dp1
- More prebuild pics and stories. go here second.







dp1/s: $59K

Engine: Stock 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa, 4cyl, 180hp.

Weight: 750lb. Power/weight 528 hp/ton (4.1 lb/hp)



dp1/t: $67K

Engine: Turbocharged 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa, 4cyl, 265hp. Garrett GT28 ballbearing turbo 6psi

Weight: 775lb. Power/weight 752 hp/ton (2.9 lb/hp)



dp1/v: $85K

Engine: Custom 2600cc V8 based on two Suzuki Hayabusa motors on common crank, 360hp.

Weight: 850lb. Power/weight 931 hp/ton (2.4 lb/hp)

[Don Plumley]

[ErVikingo]

Very cool, would like to hear more about this...

[cchyper]

yeah, isnt that thing amazing! i want one. That design looks outstanding, 2.4 lbs to hp to weight ratio! oh what i would do for numbers like that... lets compare to a 944 na 18.75 lbs per HP 3000/160 estimated. I wanna to DRIVE IT! i wonder how this thing will compare to the areil and the Radical track cars.

BP1 = 2.4 hp per lb
Radical = 3.3 hp per lb or 600bhp per ton
944 n/a = 18.75 per lb

http://www.radicalwest.com/
http://filelibrary.myaasite.com/Content/2/2642/8371142.pdf

That means that this thing has the potential to be faster than the fastest track day car you can get. THE NEW KING has been crowned. I cant wait to see how that suspension does.

[grudk]

I've been following this for a while...

Pretty neat, and he seems to know what he's doing.

I have to think that making a car essentially from scratch is not so easy. The numbers are all there, but will it really be a good 'package?'

I would wait for the critics to chime in before I slapped any $ down...

[cchyper]

Thats a mos def.. But i got to say that the thing looks great. The design as a whole is pretty impressive. I like the way the weight will be distributed and awd will be great for grip. But i too want to see the numbers that it will produce... it may not be as good as the radical.

[Cory M]

I've also been following this build for a long time. I can't wait until he gets it on the road. The "build diary" has a lot of details and pictures.

[TRE Cup]

way too cool!! what a lil monster

[jluetjen]

It is definitely a very cool car and project. I've been following it too. But I'm not sure that I'd sign up for it to be the "coolest race car" since it wasn't built to any particular set of rules. So it really isn't legal to race anywhere except for maybe one of the prototype IMSA/Le Mans classes -- if there. In regards to being a race car it's something of a "white elephant" and not an example of clever engineering within the confines of a set of rules like the 935 was (note the Porsche content).

That being said -- it really is a very cool hot rod project with a lot of interesting ideas on it. I do like it!

[Chuck Moreland]

Yes, very cool. More cool than the car itself is the process. It is being done by one guy.

What a project! And well documented.

[David]

Very very cool! I've often dreamed of building a car from scratch. I've tossed around the idea of using a Honda Civic engine in the back so I'd have the engine and transmission in one package. My latest thought is to use a 911 engine in a mid-engine configuration. I even started making drawings for the space frame. Maybe in a few more years when I have a bigger shop.

[emcon5]

Originally posted by cchyper

Engine: Custom 2600cc V8 based on two Suzuki Hayabusa motors on common crank, 360hp.

I am still waiting for someone to do this with a Honda S2000 engine, to make a 4.4 litre ~480 HP, 8000RPM little monster.

Get your buddy at HRA working on that, would ya?

Tom

[dtfastbear]

I *really* wouldn't want to get hit in the left side while driving that thing, or rollover for that matter! Given the speeds this thing will obviously generate, it doesn't look, at least to a casual observer, that a whole lot of thought was put into the safety aspects...

[dtfastbear]

I neglected to mention the positive aspects. It sure looks like a lot of time was put into the car - absolutely beautiful!!

[cchyper]

Originally posted by emcon5
I am still waiting for someone to do this with a Honda S2000 engine, to make a 4.4 litre ~480 HP, 8000RPM little monster.

Get your buddy at HRA working on that, would ya?

Tom

i will give get him on that, but he works in the motorcycle/ATV/watercraft division. So bike motors are his concern mostly. None - the - less i will tell him. Last time i talked to him about that stuff he gave me the HONDA speech - mission statement = CONSERVATIVE! - No porsche ideals there.

[Plavan]

All I can say is wow! The only thing I wish he did not do is powdercoat the suspension parts, especially on the prototype because of possible cracks. Besides that, where can I sell my kidney?

[air-cool-me]

"About 20 years ago in college I had an idea of an AWD system using Torsen diffs with braking applied to the diff, and the brake torque actually being sent to the wheel with the most traction automatically. Lo and behold, TRE is doing exactly that with their differentials, although up to now they've only done rear wheel drive - but apparently the concept works really well. So my plan is to have just two diff-mounted brake rotors, one front and one rear. Light, efficient and elegant."


what happens if a driveshaft breaks?> will the other wheel still be able to brake?

[jluetjen]

Originally posted by dtfastbear
I *really* wouldn't want to get hit in the left side while driving that thing, or rollover for that matter! Given the speeds this thing will obviously generate, it doesn't look, at least to a casual observer, that a whole lot of thought was put into the safety aspects...

Wow 'Bear. I hadn't thought about that, but you're "dead" right. There is absolutely zero crush zone on the left. Reminds me of a guy near here who used to run a Zink Z10 FF (like I once had). He apparently missed a yellow flag at Pocono, whacked a car with his right front -- which folded back and broke his right leg. Then the car slid up the track and whacked the wall with the left front -- bending that back and breaking his left leg.

He told me (while he was laying with pins in both legs) that if you break one leg, it will usually heal in a few (6+/-?) weeks. If you break both legs -- because of the forced inactivity, which slows your matabulism and thus the healing -- the healing time is more like 6 months!

Crush zones are good! You do not want to be the first thing to catch an intrusion through the cage!

[Chuck Moreland]

The designer is a shifter kart guy, and the influence is obvious. It seems to have safety considerations that are just a notch or two above a kart - but not to the level we are accustom to with cars.

Yet it has high speed potential. I wonder what type of cars it will share the track with?

[jluetjen]

I stand corrected -- when using the "E-Drawings Viewer" is it possible to see that there is a crush-zone on the left side of the car.