Most people would consider the Westfield Megabusa, roof, trunk, windshield, or place to hang your fuzzy a 1,000-pound sports car with 175 horsepower, a dice. Its lightness doesn’t get in the way of high per-scarily fast car. But when Dennis Palatov finished formance, though: it has a full undertray to generate building his Westfield, it just whetted his appetite for aerodynamic downforce, and all-wheel drive to claw an even more extreme car. He started designing his its way out of corners. own, the dp1. His goal: a trackday car with an insane The dp1’s design process has been just as high-power-to-weight ratio and a top speed of 160 MPH. tech as the dp1 itself. The parts were fabricated How to do it: increase power or decrease weight. from CAD files designed by Palatov, and the car’s Palatov ruthlessly attacked the latter, setting the aerodynamics were simulated in a software wind target weight for the car at just 700 pounds. tunnel. He’s posted progress reports, enginering
The rest of the dp1’s design flowed from the weight drawings, and photos on his blog, and has used target. Two people weigh more than one, so it’s a Lazy Web (online requests for help) to solve design single seater. A smaller frame is lighter, so he located problems and find specialized fabricators. the engine beside the driver, pulled the ends of the Three years into the project, the dp1 is almost car closer together, and used tiny, 13-inch-diameter ready to roll. Best of all, Palatov is now a manufac-wheels. Instead of a drive shaft, the dp1 uses a chain turer. He’ll build a dp1 for you, too. drive like a motorcycle and a lightweight, turbo- —Bob Miller charged Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle engine. The body is carbon fiber (what else?) on a steel space >>Dennis Palatov’s dp1 build log: dpcars.net/dp1bld frame. The car has no radio, air conditioning, carpet, >>Palatov’s design log: dpcars. randomresearch.com/dp1
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