Designing an FE Car from the ground up.

[Sludgy]

No discussion of an extreme FE car built from the ground up would be complete without mentioning Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_car

This amazing car was built in 1933 using a low compression Ford V8. It got 30 mpg and went 120 MPH. The Wiki article doesn't mention the engine's power, but early flathead Ford V8's were rated at 65-75 HP.

Can you imagine the FE a car like this would get when equipped with a modern Toyota or Honda 4 cylinder engine and a five speed transmission?

Suddenly, the 2007 models look incredibly stupid.

[The Toecutter]

The Dymaxion had a .25 drag coefficient.

I'd prefer a Tatra T77a myself. That had a .21. Put a modern pushrod V8 in it, and it would still have no problem getting over 35 mpg combined, mostly from a large boost in highway FE. Performance? *cackle*

[Gary Palmer]

Toecutter: Do you have a link to a picture of one, that you could post?

[The Toecutter]

Here's a few pics of the Tatra T77a, a full size luxury car:








Pretty nice, isn't it?

I've always dreamed of building an eco-friendly hotrod from a body style like this. Imagine swapping in the same 322 horsepower 4.2L V8 turbodiesel used in the Audi A8. A car with such good aerodynamics would easily get 50+ mpg combined with even that monster engine. And it could be run on B100.

Think of how that would look with a charcoal black paintjob, and ghost purple flames painted on the sides.

The acceleration would be a bit on the enticing side, probably around 5-6 second 0-60.

Even with a gasoline V8, a car with aerodynamics like this could still likely approach the FE of a Honda Civic.