Which mass produced car is closest to a teardrop shape ?
 

One of these days, when I actually own a house with a garage, I plan to create a car that is as streamlined as I can possibly make it.

If I ever get around to something like that, I would convert the car to an electric vehicle with a small biodiesel engine as supplemental power.

All this is just a daydream and would quickly be flushed down the toilet if there was an affordable electric car offered within my budget ( poor boy budget )

So this is just a daydream, but looking at the shapes of old cars, the 1992-1995 Mazda MX-3 looks very close to an ideal tear drop shape.
The car also has a small frontal area and low weight, unlike cars such as the Trans-Am or Camaro .

This is how I would butcher an MX-3 if given the chance :

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/...a34a7f8340.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/...a995612f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/...231551909f.jpg

Looks like a big red almond doesn't it ?

More like a big red badass ;).

OHhhh I have wanted to tinnker with an MX3 for SOOOO long!!

They are SUPER light weight, have a ton of aftermarket stuff, and are TINY (Less frontal area).

I was actually ABOUT to buy oone about 8 months ago for $700 :D ... but didnt :(

A neighbor in my 'hood drives one. Catches my eye every time it goes by. It does beg for the mods you so skillfully photoshopped.

I'd be worried that an angry mob of MX-3 fans would track me down and beat the crap out of me if I ever did such a thing to a car like that.

A truly beautiful design. I would have been driving one already, except that even with a four cylinder engine, the MX-3 got horrible mileage compared to a Civic. ( less than 35 MPG on the highway )

Oh - and thanks on the "skillful photoshop" comment !
As you can see it's really quite far from being "skillful " though .

How about the CRX HF? :)

-soD

I like the mx-3, but i've been confused by its high Cd and its low mpg.

Do you know the car's Cd figure off hand?

Nice photoshop work indeed...

Supposedly, the MX-3 had a Cd of .32 and .31 in GS trim.

For comparison, the '92-95 Civic hatch had a stock Cd of .31 ( While oddly enough, the Civic coupe had a higher Cd of .32 )

I have seen the MX-3 Cd figures elsewhere and think these quoted on this site are legit, but I have my doubts about the mileage figures listed.

( I notice that the site is Canadian and was wondering if the Canadian version of the MX-3 did indeed get better mileage. )

Is it a Canadian thing Metro ?? :)

Source : MX-3.com - Mazda MX-3 Precidia Specifications

( Look at the bottom section of the page )

The MPG figures quoted on the Canadian site are most likely Imperial gallons (larger).

I'd like to see tuft testing of the rear of an MX-3, particularly the glass. It certainly looks like the right shape...

Tatra T97, from the 30's... Flat bottom too :)

http://us1.webpublications.com.au/st...9/2978_9lo.jpg

Tatra T 600 50's
http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/...dan_Rear_1.jpg

http://www.tatra.demon.nl/images/Car...tisement-3.jpg

And by the 70's :( The 613

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...atra613_2I.jpg

Toyota Celica might be a possible choice also -->
http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/wp...elica_gt-s.jpg

Toyota Celica Press Kit
http://www.pressroom.com.au/pressroo...rodynamics.gif
http://www.pressroom.com.au/pressroo...undercover.gif

Those old tatras are pimped. A modern 4-banger dropped into there would make a sweet eco-ride you wouldn't be embarrassed to take someone to dinner in.

I didn't know the Celica's engine was a spy. :eek:
ba-dump bump.

I wish air would flow around our cars like depicted with such nice, orderly arrows. ;)

Don't forget the "a", though. Those Tatras look like pretty big cars, from the pictures. FTM, I seem to remember a bunch of old American cars with similar shapes. (Probably late '40s to early '50s, since I remember them sitting in back yards & fields when I was a kid.) Fairly slick fastback shapes*, but big in cross section.

*Especially when "ecomodded" a bit, as for instance here: Google Image Result for http://www.oldschoolpride.com/images/MVC-001S.JPG

I think that point is often missed, it's Cd * frontal area that should be compared. I've seen one once, but can't remember where... a graph that plotted car models with Cd on one axis and frontal area on the other.

They aren't that huge... certainly smaller than a Caravan... probably weighs twice as much as a caravan, though. Either way, its old-school aero and it's about as classy as it gets. Very cool car.

Anybody remember the Dymaxion???
 

Not exactly a production car, and only one or two in existence, but still miles ahead of what is currently available:

WNET: Bucky Fuller Dymaxion Car

and more pics here:

Pictures of the Dymaxion Car

Couldn't figure out how to post a pic directly if somebody could do that. It's very slick.

troy

My choice would be a Citroen GS 1220 or a DS (four headlight version)

Modern running gear , four seats and a decent luggage capacity when needed.

Pete.

a metro hatchback going backwards ;)

That depends on your frame of reference. Remember that you're talking to someone who thinks his Honda Insight is a bit too big, and that Lotus Europa is more the proper size for a car :-)

No, no! A Porsche 928 going backwards! Trikkoncepts said he was gonna build one... :p

BMW Isetta, 1957
 

If you're looking for something smaller, perhaps the Isetta...

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo...ost=good-times


The front of the car serves as the door. My step dad bought one back about 1960. He said it would only go about 50-55, but you could pretty much go around corners at 50.

Finest regards,

troy

I still stand behind that Idea, and I am still trying to get it built, DAM YOU ECONOMY!!!

I will one day own a backwards driving 928s .. lol

hahahah I would PAY to see that!!!

PAY!!!

I have given this a bit of thought and I think the best way to build a very streamlined car with minimal changes to the vehicle's structural integrity is to use a convertible. It allows you to define more of the roof line and start tappering earlier to reduce overall length. I like the idea of a Miata b/c its reasonably light weight and the original version had a pretty small engine and a friend of mine got ~43 mpg out of his. I think custom fiberglass top could be made with a big hatch in the back. now I just need a garage and some time to follow through on the idea.

Miata
 

My neighbor Bob had a Miata.After driving him to Lubbock,Texas in my CRX,he was so impressed with the mpg that he sold his Mazda upon returning home and bought a CRX to replace it.It was all grins from there on out.He did not consider the Miata to be a worthy candidate for mpg.Thats the only experience I have around the little Mazda.

356
 

Frank,is that a fiberglass kit car on VW chassis? She's a real looker!

teardrop
 

We need to find you that house and garage! That photoshop magic has got me drooling.

A man after my own heart. !

Personally I have always thought the Europa was a much overlooked car especially the Renault engined early model with the sails. aka "the breadvan"

A brilliant concept sadly let down by indifferent quality control and frustratingly poor detail design.

Pete.

Backwards Porsche 928.

Strange

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/...4d5fa746e1.jpg

i was gonna say the new beetle
http://im.rediff.com/money/2008/jan/15mlook1.jpg

Yeah. Illustrates my bad timing: I was too young to drive when they were new, too poor to buy one when they were just used cars, and too - I don't know, sensible maybe? - to buy one as a daily driver now that they're valuable classics :-(

It is. Early one, too--maybe mid-50s?


Not a prototype 356; this was one of a couple of KdF-Wagens (that would be early-early-early Bugs to you and me) that was modified by Dr. Porsche for VW (or was he in charge of VW at the time?) to attempt setting land-speed records, either in the late 1930s or early 1940s. It may have been called the W12? (A Google search turns up a lot of other stuff for VW Type W12, though.)

-soD

Its a common misconception that the old cars are heavy. Really they weigh about the same or less than most modern cars because there's really nothing to them. They were bare bones designs, without any of the modern creature comforts or electronics or extra safety devices to weigh them down.

IIRC my dads 38 chevy 4 door weighs roughly the same as his 04 camry. And thats after adding a bunch of creature comforts (leather, ac, auto trans, power windows and locks, stereo equip, etc)

The new beetle is a bad choice for optimum aero because its curves are too sharp and the flow wont stay attached.

Yes! There it is: The prototype Bug was built for a race from Berlin to Rome:

Porsche 64 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It, and two other copies, were built in 1939. :)

-soD

the topview of a car is also a nice indication of it's aero

here's a pic i snapped of my car out of the second floor window.

i like the way especially the rear, but actually the whole side of the car makes a continuous curve. http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j5...a/dsc02579.jpg

you may be right, i've been wanting to look into it more. I know the stock Cd value is .4 something, which is pretty bad so if it was drastically decreased, the mpg could go up a bit. it has a couple other things going for it: low weight and a small frontal area. i don't know if the rear wheel drive would be less efficient.

http://image.motortrend.com/f/car-ne...-side-view.jpg

http://us.autos1.yimg.com/img.autos....ew_640x480.jpg