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Author: Olly

3D-printed body kits: Could it become a thing?

Aftermarket company 1016 Industries is looking to pioneer 3D printing of body kits.

The company, based in Miami, Florida, specializes in carbon fiber body parts for exotic cars and offers everything from individual parts to full body kits. It’s now looking to incorporate 3D printing into the manufacturing of its kits and is testing a prototype kit developed for the McLaren 720S.

1016 Industries describes the kit as a full body replacement made from carbon. The company said the kit also adds 110 millimeters to the width of the 720S.

It’s still early days as 1016 Industries is yet to determine whether 3D-printed body kits are durable enough to match the performance of traditionally formed kits, i.e. cured in molds. More advanced prototype kits should have better fit and finish than the one shown here.

1016 Industries developing 3D-printed body kit for the McLaren 720S

“Incorporating 3D printing into our production processes has been a steep learning curve,” Peter Northrop, CEO of 1016 Industries, told Motor1 in an interview published Wednesday. “While the material hasn’t proven yet that it would be the right fit for a long-term prototype, our testing has proven that a car can use 3D-printed technologies and be drivable.”

According to Motor1, 1016 Industries will have a 3D-printed body kit for sale in 2021. It will be limited to 30 units and pricing information is yet to be announced. As a guide, 1016 Industries’ current kits for the McLaren 720S start at $22,000.

Performance wheel manufacturer HRE has also shown off a 3D-printed wheel and the startup Czinger has shown a whole car where most of the parts are made using 3D printing.

3D printing technology has also proven a boon for the major automakers whenever they need to produce complex parts in low volumes, for instance when building a prototype vehicle or adding a specialized part to a vehicle line. The technology has also proven useful for making parts for restoration of classic cars.

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December 10, 2020
TUNED FORD SIERRA COSWORTH: MAXIMUM ATTACK – FC THROWBACK

Welcome to this week’s FC Throwback, where we take a look back at some of our favourite previous feature cars. This week it’s David Brodie’s tuned Ford Sierra Cosworth from 2014…

Feature taken from Fast Car magazine. Words Dan Williamson Photos Michael Whitestone

When you’re an ex-BTCC racer who also happens to run one of the most respected tuning firms in the UK, your own track toy is going to be something rather special… “This is the fastest saloon car in England, possibly even Europe” a bold statement like this should really be backed up by hard facts, indisputable proof and a solid competition pedigree.

So it’s perhaps a good job that the man making these spirited claims is veteran race ace, David Brodie (AKA Brode) – a motorsport legend with almost 50 years in the bucket seat, 800 races under his overalls, innumerable wins, and a history of driving RS500 touring cars in the days when BTCC stood for ‘bloody terrific car control’.

Not only that, but Brode established renowned tuning firm BBR (Brodie Brittain Racing – one of the premier Cosworth modifiers), and reckons he’s tweaked a huge amount of cars since 1982.

The bewinged, big-arched, badass beast on these pages was developed and built by Brode over the last 20-or-so years. It’s his personal track toy, it’s pretty much his pride and joy, and it’s the pinnacle of his Sierra development. What more could you ask for? “We refurbished the Sapphire two years ago,” says Brode. “I was sick of these smart-arses in Cosworths talking big. I thought I’d show them how to do it.”

A circuit-scraping sports car built around a Ford body and floorpan, Brode’s Sapphire is still very much recognisable as an Eighties’ icon – albeit pumped up into a muscular motorsport machine. The fibreglass wheelarches house massive magnesium BBS split-rims, half the suspension is scratch-built, and under the bonnet sits 568bhp of mighty YB grunt. “The car was £130,000 to £150,000 to build back then – we don’t muck about – and in today’s money would be a quarter of a million quid,” explains Brode.

A dry sump system means the YB sits scraping the floor (for a lower centre of gravity), there’s a modified T4 turbo, fabricated tuned-length manifold, straight-through 4in stainless system, separate coil packs, secret-spec American injectors, hand-made BBR inlet and Secan intercooler. “It’s designed for fighter planes,” says Brode, “and it’s small but incredibly efficient. The intercooler core alone was £4300 when we bought it in the mid-90s…

This is probably the best Cosworth engine ever built. It revs to 9500rpm, and we measured 568bhp,” smiles Brode. So you’d expect this thing to be rapid, but even seasoned racer Brode was blown away by its staggering performance, “I don’t use full power on the straights because it would spin the wheels, and I reckon it will be four or five seconds a lap faster than my black RS500 – and nothing can live with that. It would slaughter a modern BTCC car,” he smiles.

“It’s the best rear-wheel drive saloon car in England. It’s the fastest thing I’ve ever driven.” A bold statement, but then that’s Brode all over – a big personality and a truly awesome car.

TECH SPEC SIERRA COSWORTH

tuning
Ford Cosworth YB 1993cc four-cylinder with new Cosworth block, silent block rubber mounted to chassis, lightened crank, steel rods, BBR high-compression forged pistons, dry sump system, ported big-valve doweled cylinder head, special cams, solid tappets, hand-made BBR inlet, modified T4 turbo, tuned-length manifold, 4in stainless straight-through exhaust system, Secan 14x12in intercooler, quad coil packs, Pectel ECU, secret-spec American injectors, 600bhp fuel system, BBR breather system, BBR water system with swirl pots, propshaft-driven alternator, rear-wheel drive with Hewland six-speed gearbox, hydraulic AP Racing paddle clutch, custom balanced two-piece propshaft, Ford 9.5in differential, 4:1 final drive ratio, custom heat-treated driveshafts

chassis
Bilstein coilovers, custom BBR cast aluminium uprights, hubs and rear ladder wishbones, AP Racing 356mm discs and 6-pot calipers front, twin-caliper front mountings, 300mm rear discs, BBS magnesium centre-lock split-rims, 10×18 front and 12x18in rear, Dunlop race slicks

exterior
Seam-welded Sierra Sapphire bodyshell with original floorpan, foam-filled cavities, rear doors welded shut and blended to bodywork, extended Cosworth bumpers, wide fibreglass wheel arches blended into wings, fibreglass vented bonnet, blade rear wing on alloy struts, polycarbonate windows

interior
Stripped interior, single race seat, repositioned steering column, custom roll cage with suspension mountings, mid-mounted battery and rubber fuel cell, Premier fuel system in luggage compartment

thanks
Neil McKay at BBR GTi 01280 700700, www.davidbrodie.co.uk

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December 10, 2020
Lunaz returns with EV conversion for first-gen Range Rover

A number of companies have started offering restored versions of the original Land Rover Range Rover, including Land Rover itself. The latest comes from a company called Lunaz, albeit with a twist.

Based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, Lunaz specializes in converting classic British cars to run on battery-electric power. In its portfolio already are the 1953 Jaguar XK120, 1961 Bentley S3 Continental Flying Spur, and 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom and Silver Cloud. Now we can add the original Range Rover to the list.

The original Range Rover, often referred to as a Range Rover Classic, was built from 1969 right up until the mid-1990s. For its EV conversion, Lunaz starts with an exhaustive inspection that includes weighing each corner of the vehicle to understand the original weight distribution right down to the gram. This information is then used to determine powertrain packaging and chassis setup so that the EV conversion is as dynamically similar to the original as possible.

Lunaz hasn’t revealed any specifics on the powertrain it uses, but we can imagine the Range Rover’s boxy shape won’t be good for range.

Land Rover Range Rover Classic EV conversion by Lunaz

Beyond the mechanical bits, Lunaz also fully restores the Range Rover and adds modern niceties like GPS, WiFi, and climate control. All the new features are integrated with the original interior details to keep things looking original.

Buyers will be able to choose between Town and Country specifications. For the Town specification, the focus is more on increased comfort, especially for rear-seat occupants. The Country specification is for those owners who enjoy heading off-road. In this case, the vehicle is equipped with four-wheel drive and modern suspension.

Lunaz is also offering an open-top body style just like the Range Rover that featured in 1983 James Bond film “Octopussy.” At least one customer in Europe has already ordered this option.

Pricing for the electric Range Rover from Lunaz starts at 245,000 British pounds (approximately $329,000). While that’s certainly steep for an old Range Rover, even one running on electricity, Lunaz has a long list of customers lined up. The company said the initial run is for 50 vehicles and the first of these will be delivered next summer. As a result of all the demand, Lunaz needed to double its number of engineers, designers and technicians in 2020 and expects a further doubling in 2021.

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December 9, 2020