Interesting Aerodynamic Cars (Mike Vetter's ETV, also Avion)

[aerohead]

[aerohead]

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by aerohead

That is not a 1973, because it has accordion bumpers (1974 and plus feature). However it is more like a pre-1970 because it appears to have the shorter wheelbase. The early 1980's Tea-Tray or Whale Tail is not period correct either.

One thing not considered in this simple diagram is the sucking down of air through the rear engine deck lid used to cool the air-cooled engine.

Early Porsche aerodynamics may be more advanced than first thought.

In all of the wind tunnel images and Porsche stuff I've come across over the years, it' still seems to be a protected secret.

[aerohead]

I think I used Hucho's data from his chapter on competition vehicles.I'll check when I get back to the house.

[aerohead]

I don't know if anyone looks at the AST thread any more,so I thought I'd put some here where there's a chance folks would see 'em.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by aerohead

I don't know if anyone looks at the AST thread any more,so I thought I'd put some here where there's a chance folks would see 'em.

I just went to your Photobucket album, saw the Ford Levacar and got excited as it was a version I don't recall seeing before.

More on that here:
The Ford Concept Levacar from 1959. I want this alternate...

Plus one more page here:
Flat Tires and Engine Misfires | The Ford Concept Levacar from 1959. I want this...

Using the Levacar search term, some more gifts.

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2011...se-part-1.html

[freebeard]

I in turn was interested in the car in the lower left, which turns out to be the 1962 Ford Selene. I'm always fascinated by car with no apparent means of driver ingress/egress*. At the darkroastedblend website the caption reads:

Pictured above, top to bottom: 1960 Ford Predicta, 1960 Ford Levacar, 1961 Ford Gyron, 1962 Ford Seattle, and 1962 Ford Selene. All ready to be shipped to some outer space colony, or a futuristic City Dome - to be driven by the bladerunners and paranoid androids in various Philip K. Dick environments.

The second sentence is rampant fanboi-ism. The first is full of error. The Predicta was a '57 T-bird built and shown by Darryl Starbird. It has more history with Monogram Models than Ford.

The 'Ford Seattle' is properly called the Ford Seattle-ite XXI. The linked article have titles like "Ford Seattle-ite: one of history's most significant concept cars" and "The Coolest Car Ever Built: 1962 Ford Seattle ITE XXI ...". I stood right next to it (it's a 3/8ths scale model) in 1962.

Tracking all of this down I wandered through Pinterest and wound up at The Strange Case of the "Midnight Ghost" - Dieselpunks. Which is also car Model story, in this case with a bogus back-story from the Franklin Mint.


"Duesenberg Coupé Simone Midnight Ghost."
______

Also, the Levacar was part of a system. The major part would have been a roadway system of polished stainless steel since it hovered at an altitude of a few thousandths of an inch.

Heaven forfend there be a gum wrapper laying in the roadway.



*those may be external hinges on the windshield/canopy.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I'm always fascinated by car with no apparent means of driver ingress/egress*.

I was thinking it was like an Isetta or the Stratos Concept (front glass canopy pops up).

I see the hinges, could be for front or middle, think it's the front.

The top view leads me to think the middle part has doors for the rear seats.
.................................................. .......................

I know this one below has been posted before with some contention, but the roof arc looks fairly aerodynamic to me from his angle.

Random TRANSPORTATION pictures - Page 1474 - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

[freebeard]

If it did hinge at the top rear it would have to open to 90° for the side window to be out of the way; then you'd still have to climb over the wheelwell and sill. I'll bet they didn't have booth babes climbing in and out at the shows. A Type II, where you sit over the wheel is about my limit. I'd need a front-hinged canopy and a retractable hydraulic arm to get in this thing. (I still like it) Here's how it was done in the 30s:


http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2008/02/01/four-links-more-partridge-bus-more-alternative-weinermobiles-more-hillclimbs-less-beetle/

Apparently, the Selene went up for auction in 2002:

http://www.forbes.com/2002/06/10/0610feat.html

1962 Ghia Selene II Concept Estimate: $40,000-$80,000

The Ghia Selene II concept communicated a “space” theme just right for its day. The driver sits in front in a centrally located minimalist bucket seat under a canopy. Steering is by an aircraft-style yoke. The two passengers sit behind the driver, also in the then-fashionable minimalist buckets but facing back, looking at a television screen. The doors have transparent windows that extend from the beltline to the center of the roof.
...

The reality is that time is tough on dream cars. The Ghia Selene II concept’s metal body is fabricated with the skill for which Ghia is known with good panel fits and even gaps. But the suspension does not appear to work and there is no engine or any drive train components. The two side doors work well but drop slightly. The paint is in decent condition, appearing to have been repainted some time ago. The seats have surface cracks but are not torn.

There's also a story about my favorite car from 1996, the Ford Indigo:

996 Ford Indigo Estimate: $15,000-$25,000 ($8,000-$14,000 without interior)

Indigo was designed to measure acceptance for an Indy Car-inspired open-top roadster. The working prototype had a 48-valve, six-liter V-12 engine with doubled the displacement of the Taurus SHO V-6. It also had a six-speed transaxle with electronically regulated hydraulic shifting controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.

Ford created one complete functional Indigo that was track tested. In the course of the project, managed by Ford’s New Concepts Organization, two nonworking, full-size Indigo concepts were constructed that were used to gauge market acceptance and to fulfill show commitments. Sadly, it is only the latter two Indigo concepts that are offered here, one with an interior and one without.

Drop that on a VW floorpan.

[aerohead]