Here's a crazy idea. How about a geodesic chassis - one made entirely of (almost) equilateral triangles. geodesic domes are very strong and very light.

I was thinking of 12mm tube with 1mm wall thickness and triangle lengths of 200mm. The result would be the shape of a bumper car and the chassis would be like an outer skin of mesh. I'd reinforce the areas around the cockpit with 2 walls of mesh in a pyramid arrangement. Chassis weight would be around 30kg including the floor plus front and rear bulkhead panels for a mid engined single seater that would take a rear scooter engined drive train like the cabin scooter I'm working on.

An advantage would be that the whole thing could be covered in a semi-permanent tonneau cover. Partly to keep the weather out and partly to keep the IVA man's testing sphere out. It would be a lot easier than making a GRP body (so I've found out) A removable cloth cover would make maintenance easier as you could just reach through the frame to get to the parts you need to work on.

Very interesting idea. I will be watching this thread closely

Interesting not sure you will make the weight requirement though, seems a bit to light with the amount of tubing required.. Might be a nightmare of angles and mitre cuts... Would like to have a go at building something like your new creation at some point; not making a GRP shell would be a great plus (and cheaper+quicker!)..

Dan

Maserati Birdcage is pretty close.
I know someone who works on one and, well lets just say it tested his welding ability. And that was for a minor repair.


click for piccy

[Edited on 20/5/10 by balidey]