I only offer a different way of looking at existing ideas......Waldo

  
    Believe it or not this design is actually a four wheeled, 500 mile per hour car I conceptualized for Ron Pruett in the late 1990's. Based on my "Single Plane Force Streamlined " design of a decade before. This was a very clean design aerodynamically and extremely well balanced dynamically. It is basically two pods in line linked by a trainular shaped boom. The Ford sidewinder mounted, supercharged 600 cubic inch V8 engine, fuel, coolant and transmission (one Lenco air slammer linked by Gilmer belts to side by side front wheels) were in the front pod. While the driver separated from fire and scalding danger is in the rear teardrop/driver pod. Two outrigger, spatted rear wheels stabilize the design in yaw while adding fin drag at the rear to aid in aerodynamic stability. The spats are designed to have negative lift, their shape creates a small shock load on top (all leading edges are the top in this spat design) of them at 500 miles per hour.This is a front wheel drive two speed car.The idea was a push car would push you up to 100 or so miles per hour. Then you would dump the clutch hit the gas and hold on. At about 350 miles per hour you would hit an air cylinder and engage high gear. Say a prayer and keep the pedal down until you peaked at over 500 mph Then you would slam the clutch in and pop the chute. Ron Pruett was an absolute Ford fan and set many land speed records using only Ford products even though Ford never helped him in any way. Ford claims it is known for promoting racing but rarely "promotes" with it's checkbook when it comes to land speed projects.
    The vehicle has the dynamics and aerodynamics of a dart to insure directional stability. Most of the weight is in the nose and the drag is at the rear. The center of pressure(Cp) was not only behind the center of gravity (Cg) because of the location of the boom it is also under the Cg.The (boom that links the two pods is extendable as it is of a sleeve in a sleeve design, making the vehicle's aspect ratio dialable.) Pulling the vehicle's nose down and directing it's straight line path. Aerodynamically it is very clean. The engine pod is a teardrop shaped ground effects pod with the highest impact pressure air being directed right into the engine, through a slot in the nose it becomes a high pressure flow into a plenum chamber. It is then fed to the engine's supercharger. Exhaust header gasses are directed low out either side of the engine pod to help accelerate the air at the base of the boom. Air there is already at a higher than normal speed and pressure because of the Venturi effect of the pod to boom interface and narrow cross section of the boom. Air travels along this boom under the teardrop/driver pod and puts force on the streamlined rear wheel/spat arms creating even more negative lift on the rear. The over-all concept is to use aerodynamically very clean shapes in an interaction matrix in an attempt to generate negative lift and stability.The teardrop/driver pod meanwhile is in smooth Laminar air coming over the top of the engine pod and being pulled downward by the arching flow over the engine pod. It is a low drag shape of a 3.5 to 1 perfectly streamlined teardrop with a Cg of 05. Parachutes are housed in the rear pointed section of the teardrop/driver pod. The rear thirty inches of the teardrop/driver pod separates at the end of the run releasing a high drag cone shape on a long lanyard. I call this a "Paracone" and it acts as pilot chute and deployment bag for the main parachute which it contains. The now Kamm backed teardrop/driver pod has additional drag at this point to increase directional stability at the end of the run as the chute deploys. The entire body of the car would have been coated with high gloss lacquer and scratched with microscopic ribs running the length of the car. This based on research done at Langley in the late 1980's would reduce over-all drag by as much as 10 percent. Vacuuming in the boundary layer of air closest to the body and keeping the over-all vehicle skin flow highly laminar. Don't tell anyone I told you about that!

     This design is a logical progression of Jocko Johnson's triple nickel car design. It is an evolved practical study of Jocko's Venturi body design. The chassis and roll cage would be mild steel and the body parts, spats and boom would be of carbon fibre composite. Overall weight would be less than 4,000 lbs. frontal area would be less than 9 square feet with an over-all coefficient of drag of .08. The engine would generate a reliable 2,800 horse power with 2,680 going directly to the front traction wheels.The tires I envisioned for this design would be shaved down aluminized SR-71 Blackbird tires ( bought surplus) on aluminum wheels. I know this design has that Luigi Colani or Syd Mead look. But unlike their wonderful yet impractical vehicle designs this car is the REAL DEAL! Ron Pruett never built this vehicle but now that I put it out there I know someone with a brain and money to burn someday will. I have seen every design known and have never seen anything better. So if you really want to go fast here is your chance......