100MPG, 0-60 under 5 seconds, 5 star crash rating, lemans inspired body...for $25,000

[joboo]

This looks awesome.

www.wikispeed.com (http://www.wikispeed.com)

Video is the older body style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_XWlVwdTc&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c_XWlVwdTc&feature=player_embedded

http://www.wikispeed.com/Media/WIKISPEEDCAR/Page/NotableFacts_Efficiency_1024.jpg

[Cebu_4_2]

Heres the website, says only 9 left @25K

http://www.wikispeed.com/Affordable

[horseshoe3]

It's a good thing their engineering is widely dispersed. The project might be able to survive several suicides and accidental deaths that way.

[muffin]

does it come with a roof so i can strap my dog to it?

[ximmy]

you can claim anything in writing... seems rather far fetched abilities

[Neuro]

Cool. So you get a custom-built car, that does 0-60 in 5 secs, 100 mpg, topspeed of 150 mph, and a huge trunk, for $25.000, and is quite good in a crash (even though it has the highest rating, I don't think it would do very well in a collision with a SUV, that weighs 4-6 times as much)...

Well done! In some places it may be difficult to get a registration for it though since it is not a standardized vehicle...

[vacuum]

I've been to their shop in seattle and saw the car.

[Awoke]

Just have to ask, WTF is with the name WIKISpeed?

Wiki? Wikipedia, wikiThis, wikiThat, What is with that word, Wiki?????

And why the heck would this guy call his car that? I just don't get it. Someone please.

[Grog]

I've been to their shop in seattle and saw the car.

and your thoughts on the car, facility, and operation?

[Cebu_4_2]

and your thoughts on the car, facility, and operation?

wikigood

[LuckyStrike]

I don't think it would do very well in a collision with a SUV, that weighs 4-6 times as much)...

Of course not, vehicle crash test ratings come from being crashed into other vehicles in their class, so a smart car or prius or this car may have the same rating as a 6000 lb truck even though the truck would utterly destroy the car, but it is just eco mentalist anti SUV nonsense.

Far less people would buy compact cars if they had a 1 star rating and a big SUV had a 5.

[joboo]

you can claim anything in writing... seems rather far fetched abilities

1400lbs is crazy light. Less than half the weight of a normal compact car.

I love this idea. Everything is modular, so the repairs/upgrades would be excellent.

This thing comes in as the 25th lightest car out there:
http://www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showtop10.cgi?31

I hope it catches on.

[vacuum]

This car is street legal and has a 5 star crash rating. The shell is made out of carbon fiber and the body is made out of aluminum tubing. They even use a lithium ion battery instead of a lead acid one. The carbon fiber is apparently not that expensive, the reason it costs so much is because of the high labor charges because few people know how to work with it.

The reason it is called wikispeed is because it's an open-source hardware project. Just like on a wiki, anyone can contribute. You could literally show up to their garage, they'd pull a sticky note off the wall, give you tools, and you would be working on the car the same day. People just show up and donate their time.

They've got several sites. The main garage doesn't do the composite work, they just work on the engine, body, etc. The actual composites are done about 20 miles north. The car itself has pretty good performance, much better than something like a hybrid.

There are several reasons it gets 100+ mpg.


They took the most efficient motor on the market, and tweaked it to be even more efficient
They reduced drag by a lot. The car is only like 3 feet high
They reduced weight, so less mass to move around


This is an open source hardware project and they are collaborating with open source ecology, another open source hardware project which I've posted about before.



Just have to ask, WTF is with the name WIKISpeed?

Wiki? Wikipedia, wikiThis, wikiThat, What is with that word, Wiki?????

And why the heck would this guy call his car that? I just don't get it. Someone please.


and your thoughts on the car, facility, and operation?

[sugar plum]

Any chance they could put a roof on it? It would make it much more user friendly and could reduce drag even further if they shaped it right.

[Osiris]

Has to have a/c too! Am I asking too much?

[vacuum]

Any chance they could put a roof on it? It would make it much more user friendly and could reduce drag even further if they shaped it right.
They're working on it. The new body/design is called the "comfy commuter car".

edit: At least I think it would have a roof. They are in seattle you know.

[LuckyStrike]

The problem is it's impracticality. You can buy pretty much any motorcycle and get 50+ mpg, but it's not really practical for most journeys.

I applaud the guys for doing this and thinking outside the box.

The project I would do is find a 3-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine and mount it to a 6speed and put it in a corolla, that way you could have all the comforts of a modern compact car and with tweaks probably touch 75mpg. But I'm just talking, these guys are doing, so I'm not going to detract.

[vacuum]

The problem is it's impracticality. You can buy pretty much any motorcycle and get 50+ mpg, but it's not really practical for most journeys.

I applaud the guys for doing this and thinking outside the box.

The project I would do is find a 3-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine and mount it to a 6speed and put it in a corolla, that way you could have all the comforts of a modern compact car and with tweaks probably touch 75mpg. But I'm just talking, these guys are doing, so I'm not going to detract.
Someone donated a turbo diesel to them. They want to try to put it in the car.

[LuckyStrike]

Someone donated a turbo diesel to them. They want to try to put it in the car.

That is the only way to go IMO, plus if you can make even some bio diesel you would be set.

I want I Hilux like you wouldn't believe.

[muffin]

The problem is it's impracticality. You can buy pretty much any motorcycle and get 50+ mpg, but it's not really practical for most journeys..

but but a motorcyle can't haul 20 bags of groceries or 6 golf bags! i need my grocery getter!

[General of Darkness]

What do we have here?

1 - Physics
2 - Super light weight car
3 - 0 - 60 5 seconds
4 - Great fuel economy

How do you get there.

1 - Super light car, aluminum
2 - 0 - 60 in 5 seconds, numbers are determined by grip, power, weight and "some" aerodynamics', but really comes down to weight and power
3 - Mileage = Fuel plus distance. Pretty damn simple, but how do you improve it? It's simple Newtonian physics. A mass in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon, so you have gravity, wind, rotating mass and a bunch of other shit, and we aren't talking fuel efficiency.

To comment on what LS said, high performance motorcycle engines don't get 50+ mpg, in reality if you get in the 1000CC range it's more like 30.

I venture with electronics you could get about 200+ miles to the gallon, but it won't have the weight of navigation systems, nice seats, overall creature comforts. It would be noisy, and most importantly it wouldn't pass DOT standards. And you know once you get the .gov involved their lobbyists would destroy you, just ask Deloren.




First off, a super light car made of aluminum with a 4 banger Honda motor, 0-60 in 5 seconds, well fuck me, my 1996 911 that weighs twice that much can do it in about 5.4, so this isn't rocket science. How are they claiming 100 miles to the gallon

[LuckyStrike]

To comment on what LS said, high performance motorcycle engines don't get 50+ mpg, in reality if you get in the 1000CC range it's more like 30.







It all depends on how you drive it, like anything. I have an 06 R1 and can get 50 out of it if I keep it under 6k RPM's (have no fun)

But this car would not get 100mpg either if you actually did 0-60 in 5 seconds from every stop, so I see it more as potential MPG. And like I said the rule of thumb for motorcycles is 45-50.

[Spectrism]

It looks like it has a suspension system comparable to:

http://smalltownworld.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/red-wagon.jpg

[Cebu_4_2]

We have an old Honda that supposed to get 29-30 hwy, before I looked at what it was supposed to get I was disappointed with 32ish. It is pretty heavy for whats supposed to be a small car but the lack of mileage I think comes from the emission standards placed on it. You can drive it like a turd or drive it normal and no change in mileage. Header exhaust kit on the way, looking for a higher compression engine to bolt in and that might help. Cant switch pre 80's cam in there, it's a no fit option so all I can do is bump the timing up a little.

[horseshoe3]

The project I would do is find a 3-4 cylinder turbo diesel engine and mount it to a 6speed and put it in a corolla, that way you could have all the comforts of a modern compact car and with tweaks probably touch 75mpg. But I'm just talking, these guys are doing, so I'm not going to detract.

You mean like the diesel Civic that gets 60+ mpg off the lot, and is available everywhere EXCEPT North America? Yah, that would be nice to have, but we can't let those Americans take any real steps toward energy independance. Better to keep them dreaming of a utopia with windmills and solar panels while they tool around in cars that make WORSE gas mileage than they did 30 years ago.

[drafter]

My 1200cc Harley with a carburetor, which is behind most motorcycles tech wise, gets consistantly over 40mpg. Good enough for me considering it's "paid for" and maintenance/repairs are still able to be done at home in the garage with simple hand tools for the most part.

[LuckyStrike]

You mean like the diesel Civic that gets 60+ mpg off the lot, and is available everywhere EXCEPT North America? Yah, that would be nice to have, but we can't let those Americans take any real steps toward energy independance. Better to keep them dreaming of a utopia with windmills and solar panels while they tool around in cars that make WORSE gas mileage than they did 30 years ago.

The list goes on an on, the Hilux which is basically the Tacoma sold overseas has a diesel and the 4x4 gets 35mpg, available everywhere but NA. Or how about the Chevy colorado which has only gas engines here and only diesel engine options overseas.

It's a scam of epic proportions.

Almost 10 years ago now GM was building a "baby duramax" a 4.5l diesel v8 which was supposed to have 500lb ft and get near 30mpg, then they scraped the project. Nissan was supposed to be working with either isuzu or cummins and putting a 4cyl diesel in the Titan but say it will take till 2013+ to figure it out...... How stupid do they think we are?