CFECO's X-Car Project Re-Do

[CFECO]

Got more views of "That"?

[Frank Lee]

triation - Google Search

It was for sale on Craigslist a few years ago.

[aerohead]

I never met Lamar,but I've read about his testing and would mimic his methodology if so inclined.
It was a Road & Track article in a book about Karmann Ghia cars in which a road test comparison of a Ghia, Beetle, and 1600 Squareback offered the lift data.
Is it possible that Lamar tested a Super Beetle,and not the original Beetle?
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As to the longitudinal vortices on the Bug,Hucho says it's the roofline which causes them.
The Beetle's roof contour is what Hucho calls "pseudo-Jaray." It's too fast to be a proper fastback,and the low pressure of separation induces higher pressure from under and besides the car to flow upwards towards the low,attempting to reach pressure equilibrium.
As the streams collide,the shearing forces set up the cyclonic flow exactly as with warm Gulf moisture convecting up into the jet stream.This is what Kamm worked against,lofting the roof to respect boundary layer requirements which also prevented these vortices.
If you compare the Cd 0.495 Beetle to the Cd 0.30 VW 'Student' concept,you can see how VW has corrected the roofline to kill any chance of vorticity.

[freebeard]

Frank Lee -- Faster backwards?



So we're back to this then? May as well use the whole Type III.

The Beetle's roof contour is what Hucho calls "pseudo-Jaray." It's too fast to be a proper fastback,and the low pressure of separation induces higher pressure from under and besides the car to flow upwards towards the low,attempting to reach pressure equilibrium.

It sounds like those Gerrelt-style backlight visors are getting it wrong. How about the GTI 650?

[CFECO]

I was getting the "1/6 scale New Beetle" model ready to make a mold yesterday, when I got thinking..."Usually Dangerous"... that if this car was 1/6 the size of the real car, it should be a LOT bigger, unless the real car is only about 5' long! Compared to the 1/24 scale model, the big car is about 1.58 times larger...so I figure it is about 1/15.1 scale. Much smaller than 1/6, but is really a good size to work with, and saves a lot of materials for molding and casting. Ebay seller "Miss-stated" the size...Oh well "first time for everything....
Building the mold box today.

[GreenHornet]

So are we trying to design a modern Type 64 :-) This was the vehicle Mr. Porsche himself drove day in and day out.

[CFECO]

Sort of. Move the cabin forward to give more room for passengers, and a closer Template image. Now make it so it'll bolt to a standard early bug pan, and that will be what we are trying to do...at least first.

[aerohead]

I don't know what to make of it.
The GTI is the high performance version,and the rear 'styling' may cater to some perceived expectation on the part of the target market.
Do they race these in rally's?
Ford does draggy,'hey look at me' stuff with their Cosworth rally cars.It gives them a little downforce at the expense of higher drag.

[freebeard]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r96t6og6pd0

Here's a look from autocar.co.uk. The Top Gear appearance has been taken down, but basically their conclusion was "not sorted".

It was built by VW Group in 8 weeks to show at the Worthersee GTI show in 2012. It has the 650hp Bentley Continental W-12 in mid-engine configuration. Top speed is given as 202mph.

The reasoning on the roofline was to have a wing for downforce without it looking added onto the normal Golf roof.

There's a bubble-top coupe roof in there. It's a really short wheelbase for that much power. I think it's brilliant, but I'd settle for the Passat's W-8.