Veyron beating mini?

[Squig]

As we all read in the last issue (well the last one I bought anyway) twin engines minis, whilst not exactly the first thought on the mind of the sanest person, are not unheard of... If fact in my mind they are a little like a mythical creature, loads of people have heard of them but few have actually seen one.

My "In the Bath" thought this month (and for a few before that) is; twin Holeshot-Racing stage 5 Hayabusa engined mini, run on 17's should see a top speed of nearing 200mph (not that anyone with half a brain would feel comfy at that speed in a mini), but with over 1300bhp the 0-60 would be insane. Only limited by the grip of the rubber on the road...

Now has anyone got a spare £30k for me to build one?

[OilyFingers]

You don't need two engines. All you need is a 1948 design and some know how. Al's Gasser was one of the first UK dragsters and is still running. Oh and it'll show a Veyron SS the way home by a good two seconds.

[Relentless Rob]

I'd talk to Sean at BigCC Racing instead of the Holeshot boys. A Supercharged Sprocket (Triumph Rocket III) engine feeding a transaxle and twin diff' arangement (similar to the R8) would be better than the 'busas. Also a Mini Minus GRP and Kevlar shell from Mick at Culeys and get Jamie from Wisbech Engineering to make the spaceframe, IRS, IFS with integrated cage. Job done.


(Just tripled your budget but hey it's only got one engine so it would be road legal)

[TeamTotalWankel]

I like your thinking and it would be spectacular But £30K isn't very PPC now is it?

How about this for a more PPC alternative?

Old Celica GT4 (ST185?)
Remove original gearbox, prop & diff. Sell these to put towards 2nd engine.
Refit front engine using std 2wd Celica / MR2 'box.
Fit 2nd 3SGTE engine and 2wd 'box in the back driving the original rear hubs from the 4wd.
I know it's going to weigh a lot more than a twin bike engined mini but it'll still be a 600BHP 4WD rocketship!! That'd be achievable with only minor tweaks to the turbo/ecu/cooling and probably more than enough for the road However, with some more engine work (forged pistons x8, steel h'gaskets, big turbos etc) this could easily be putting down over 1000BHP!! And may be a tad more stable at speed than a Mini

I reckon the 'road tuned' version could be done for just a few thousand, with the 1000BHP monster for under £10K.

[fha772]

Damn you TTW!!!!

I like that idea , but I haven't got the room!!!

TW@!!!!!

[Squig]

Yeah I know it's not very ppc but it's a thought that been bouncing around my head, and hey I started a conversation! WOOOO!

Wasn't aware twin engined vehicles weren't road legal (@ Rob)

TTW, I like your thinking and a much more PPC alternatative

[Relentless Rob]

Wasn't aware twin engined vehicles weren't road legal (@ Rob)

John Cooper built a twin engined Mini (Twini) in the 60's and it was banned from rallying for being too fast (twenty years before "Group B" gave Health and Safety a foot in to motorsport). You can drive a twin engined car on the road but one engine has to be disabled if I recall correctly.

I like the GT4+4 idea but I'd go for Dazzlers old Corrola. Cut a hole in the boot floor and drop an MR2 turbo engine and box in the back then swap the Corrolas engine for another MR2 turbo.

Blacked out windows or van pannels to keep it stealth (as stealth as Dazzlers old Corrola could be at least) as well.

[fha772]

I think the GT4 would be the better starting point, purely because the biggest problem with hitting 200mph, is aerodynamics.
The GT4 is a better shape to start with, but will need some modding to stay stable at speeds in excess of 170mph.

(can you tell I've looked into going over 200mph before?)

[Squig]

I think the GT4 would be the better starting point, purely because the biggest problem with hitting 200mph, is aerodynamics.
The GT4 is a better shape to start with, but will need some modding to stay stable at speeds in excess of 170mph.

(can you tell I've looked into going over 200mph before?)

At risk of being chuckled at, would the Calibra not be a reasonable base as they are pretty aerodynamic, dirty cheap, IRS as standard allowing for a hub change to the 4x4 rear hubs, and a pair of LET engines aren't difficult to find, have 500bhp potential each, and allow for a starting point of 400bhp... not quite as good as the Celica idea but possibly cheaper

Good job this is in the bath thinking, as today I've had enough of Vauxhalls (mine specifically, refitting the F28 into a bay with no room to manouver it... it was a good job I couldn't reach my lump hammer!).

Aero wise I'd suggest on any of these a full under tray and some form of front splitter to pull the nose down and maintain that all important grip of the steering wheels and (really not sure here) would it make sense to run a smidge more power in the front lump anyway so the vehicle is pulling rather than pushing?

[Relentless Rob]

Agreed with the aerodynamic value of the Calibra it was the cars biggest selling point. Exploding diffs, crapbox engines and Vauxhall (lack of) build quality let them down. A pair of SAABinator engines though......








...an LPG tank where the passenger's supposed to go (to avoid surge issues and up the Ron a bit) and 600bhp per engine?



Ohhhh yes that's just about crazy enough to work. SAAB lumps are cheaper than Toyota ones as well.

[Squig]

the 2 litre should fit very nicely to. The Saablibra TTTE...

I like it!

[Relentless Rob]

Just got off the phone to the ex' (traffic officer for the Norfolk Police) and she has confirmed that twin engined cars are not road legal.

Not for any construction and use regulation, road traffic act, highway code, IVA, SVA or any law for that matter.

Ready for this......






....you'd better sit down......






....since the DVLA "upgraded" their computers in 1994 the V5 certificate can not accept two engine numbers.




The quango's strike again.

[TeamTotalWankel]

Seems I've excited a few with this idea Sorry, squigs idea slightly modified. I do think this may be possible for under £10k
How about a £9999 challenge? Can anyone build a 1000BHP (200mph) car for this sort of money? I think yes.....maybe.

BTW - Rob, who gives a toss about road-legal? We're talking ground breaking car bodgery here!!

[TeamTotalWankel]

Just put the figures into a performance calculator. Rounded the weight up to 1500kgs but would probably be a good bit less, and here's what it says-


Power to Weight: 678 bhp/ton
0-60: 2.7
0-100: 4.9
60-100: 2.2
1/4 Mile ET: 9.87
1/4 Mile Terminal: 153
Dragstrip 1/4 Mile ET: 9.52
Dragstrip 1/4 Mile Terminal: 156

Bit poor really

[Squig]

can you do the same for 1250kg as realistically a cally would weigh @ 1350kg + 200kg for second engine/drivetrain then less 350kg in heavy crap that can be removed including wiring and pointless tad (read interior lights, sound deadening, radio/speakers, dashboard, rear seats, etc., etc.), you could potentially get this into the 1100kg range with polycarb windows, and cutting metal out.

Thing is also I don't know you guys well enough to know if TTW is being serious or sarky with his last comment But I'd be fair happy with a sub 10 second 1.4 for less than £10k

incidentally I think I remember the cally having a drag co-efficent of .29... ***edited as I found the correct figure***