If you've noticed which vehicles are creating a buzz in the aftermarket, you may have seen a proliferation of rocket-powered space-frame road cars that owe a fair amount of their design to unskinned Formula 1 racers.
That's probably because Formula racers get paid to know what works, and it would be great if someone could figure out how to get those cars on the street. Well, TwinTech has, only with a V-twin twist.
Located in Brighton, Michigan, Dave Piontek was laying around one evening watching American Chopper on television when he thought of an idea that would marry a space-frame chassis design with the rumble of a V-twin motorcycle engine. It wasn't an entirely new concept for the former Ford design technician, as he'd created his Sportech (www.funcar.com) vehicle back in the late '80s using a 1,100cc motorcycle engine in a full carbon-fiber and Kevlar body. Dave approached this design a little differently, wanting it to be a bit more stylish but much more minimalistic--no doors, roof, or complicated body to deal with. To get things rolling, Dave turned to a pair of friends in the design and engineering world, Jay Novak and Kip Ewing. Jay is an SCCA racer familiar with suspension design since he worked for Ford as a tech specialist (the guy manufacturers call when something isn't working right on a new car). Kip is a degreed engineer with a lot of artistic tendencies, and he came up with some sketches based on what Dave and Jay knew would work.
The final product, the prototype you see here, incorporated a visible swept-tube shape that was engineering-driven, with aesthetics coming in a close second. Yes, the team realizes it could have designed the car a little differently, but when the first design element had to include "a V-twin motorcycle engine mounted transversely in the nose section," then you work with what you have to the best of your abilities! As it is, the team figured this car has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution front to rear.
Many times when building a prototype you make what you have work, but these guys used some of the best components available to build their one-off. Billet aluminum uprights based on race car suspension designs were used, as were Wilwood billet aluminum brake calipers and hats. Big 17-inch forged wheels occupy each corner of the car and are wrapped in Goodyear F1 rubber. Nitron adjustable coilover shocks are actuated through a pushrod and rocker arm setup that allows the shocks to lay down alongside some of the frame's structural tubing, thereby out of the way. The frame itself is made from 1.75-inch tubing with a wheelbase of 95 inches.
The motor, an S&S V-twin with 124 cubes of displacement and roughly 125 horses, is a basic (albeit large-displacement for a V-twin) over-the-counter model that can easily be swapped out for something with more than 200 horsepower that, when installed in the 1,120-pound vehicle, will give it a substantial power-to-weight ratio. TwinTech estimates the setup they have right now will deliver a 0-to-60 mph time at 4.5 seconds, a skidpad rating of 1.1 g's, and a 60-to-0 measurement of 108 feet--good numbers that indicate a truly fun drive!
There are still a few bugs that need to be worked out before the car will be offered to the public in finished form, but at an estimated $50,000, the team hopes folks will recognize quality parts were used in this endeavor, and realize safety isn't cheap, either! A kit version will probably follow, says Piontek, but the initial offering will be for finished cars only. You can learn more about the TwinTech vehicle by checking out the firm's Web site, www.twintech.com.
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There are dozens of V-twin engine manufacturers out there, and among the largest has got to be S&S. They make engines in many different displacements, such as this 124-incher. TwinTech's Dave Piontek says this motor is rated at 125 horsepower, but with a larger motor and a supercharger added you can get over 200 horsepower without any problem (all in an 1,120-pound vehicle!). |
TwinTech's suspension is based on an independent design using rocker arms actuating adjustable Nitron coilover shocks... |
...The Nitron shocks, built in the United Kingdom, are very expensive, and can be found on all sorts of high-end race cars. |
An upside-down VW transaxle equipped with Hewland sequential shifting is used to transfer power from the engine to the rear wheels (a nearly 6-foot driveshaft connects the engine to the box). |
The swept-tube design TwinTech came up with uses 1.75-inch tubing with oval tube control arms. It's a simple and minimalistic design, but it's stiff enough on the track. |
A pair of Sparco Evo seats keep driver and passenger in place--even more so when the five-point RJS racing harnesses are used... |
...An ididit aluminum column was used on this prototype, and VDO gauges let the driver know what's going on up in the sharp end of the vehicle. |
Big 17x7.5-inch Kosel forged wheels wrapped in Goodyear F1 rubber are mounted to each corner. Billet aluminum uprights with Wilwood billet aluminum rotors and brake calipers are also used, which TwinTech estimates will bring the car from 60 mph to zero in 108 feet. |
You've got to have headlights... |
...and mirrors, but they don't have to be oversized to look good! |