Design
Dune buggies are usually created using one of three methods.
The first involves alteration of an existing vehicle, most notably the original car or chassis, often a Volkswagen Beetle or a purpose-built chassis. The model is nicknamed Bug, therefore the term "buggy". The Beetle automobile platform is preferred for a variety of reasons. Most significant is the position of the rear mounted Volkswagen engine, which with removal of bodywork transfers a high proportion of the weight to the rear driven wheels for extra traction. The engine is air cooled, simplifying engine modification, and the absence of a radiator eliminates a source of failure. The low price; robustness of the front suspension; and the sizable quantity of spare parts from other VW Beetles and Type 2 (Microbus) are a further advantage. Chevrolet Corvair engines are also a popular way to upgrade to 6 cylinders and sometimes vehicles are fitted with turbochargers to provide as much as 180 horsepower (130 kW). For example, one such conversion was a 1970 Manx 2 on a 1961 VW chassis. It was fitted with a 180 hp (130 kW) turbocharged Corvair engine, with reverse rotation, mated to a VW transaxle.
The second method involves construction of a vehicle frame from scratch; formed and welded using steel tubing. The advantage of this method is that the fabricator can change fundamental parts of the vehicle (usually the suspension and addition of a built-in roll cage). Buggies of this type are called sandrails because of the rail frame. Sandrails, as with the VW Bug, often have the engine located behind the driver. Sizes can vary from a small-engine one-seat size to four-seat vehicles with eight or more cylinders. Sandrails can have panels or custom-shaped body coverings over frame, though many are left bare.
The third method represents a mix of the above two design philosophies, typically constructed from a converted vehicle that has sustained damage from age, hard use, or accidents. This type of creation is called The Boston-Murphy style.
Read more about this topic: Dune Buggy
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“We find that Good and Evil happen alike to all Men on this Side of the Grave; and as the principle Design of Tragedy is to raise Commiseration and Terror in the Minds of the Audience, we shall defeat this great End, if we always make Virtue and Innocence happy and successful.”
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
“Joe ... you remember I said you wouldn’t be cheated?... Nobody is really. Eventually all things work out. There’s a design in everything.”
—Sidney Buchman (1902–1975)
“Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it.”
—Miguel De Cervantes (1547–1616)