Ex-1 esque

With the Nissan LMP, and the increasing popularity of 3-wheelers, I've been thinking of a FWD car with a much narrower rear track. Lo and behold, Peugeot has already done it to great effect with an electric powertrain:

So what do you guys think about a tube-frame locost-esque version of one, utilizing a Subaru engine and tranny converted to FWD, and dual swingarm rear wheels? Aero and overall weight would be excellent, weight distribution might be an issue, as would camber compensation at the rear. I thought in keeping with the motorcycle theme, that since the rears weren't heavily laden, maybe motorcycle tires on the back, which would have good grip characteristics even when not leaning the correct way. Unsprung weight on the rear would also be kept more manageable this way. The NA Subaru is a pretty light engine, and at 1200 lbs. or so, 170 HP would be plenty.

I think a subaru engine would be a poor choice for this type of build. There are so many excellent front wheel drive engines that never get recognized due to being strapped to a less than ideal platform/configuration.

If it were me I would build it around a transverse 4 cylinder already in a FWD configuration with double wishbone suspension.

RSX Type S is the first thing that comes to mind...

NordicSaab wrote: I think a subaru engine would be a poor choice for this type of build. There are so many excellent front wheel drive engines that never get recognized due to being strapped to a less than ideal platform/configuration. If it were me I would build it around a transverse 4 cylinder already in a FWD configuration with double wishbone suspension. RSX Type S is the first thing that comes to mind...

Fully agree with this. And tilt the honda motor back a few degrees to fix the weight distribution problem. Moves the center of mass of the engine back AND down. Win-win. I think a Peugeot rally team did this with the 207 or something. All they had to move was like 4 degrees to get a noticeable improvement.

Was just gonna say what NordicSaab said. A typical transverse FWD powertrain will give you better weight distribution and keep you clear of Subie engine problems.

Also by "Dual swingarm" do you mean double wishbone/SLA suspension?

Sounds like a fun idea. You could probably find a wrecked ecotec for pretty cheap, I think the na cobalt SS had about 170 hp

GameboyRMH wrote: Was just gonna say what NordicSaab said. A typical transverse FWD powertrain will give you better weight distribution and keep you clear of Subie engine problems. Also by "Dual swingarm" do you mean double wishbone/SLA suspension?

As I think about it, a fella could find a rear-ended RSX and keep the front subframe/suspension so that all those packaging issues would already be worked out. Reinforce it with tubing and build the back 2/3 bespoke.

I was thinking dual swingarm originally because the wheels would only be a few inches apart, but if one went with spacing similar to the Peugeot, you could hang A-arms off of a simple narrowed box frame. You could even chop out the middle of the chassis and reuse the stock Acura rear suspension in narrowed form, although there'd likely be geometry issues to be worked out.

Bike power and rwd, that is all.

Neat but still fwd so???

1 - What's so bad about FWD? I've had a bloody good time fooling around with FWD Hondas and Mazdas. You could probably get the weight of somehing like this under 1200 lbs. Couple that with your basic 200 HP Honda 4 and think about what you'd have....

2 - a bike-powered one would have all the disadvantages of BEC's, although it would be fun. I was originally thinking of something more like one of the Morganesque Moto-Guzzi or Gold-Star powered three-wheelers, but with much more power, the efficiency of no driveshaft, and the control of four wheels.

I also have had a ton o fun in fwd,have a couple of wheel to wheel championships in them....but if I'm going thru the effort of building a toy from scratch its not going to be fwd.