Dymaxion car

Dymaxion car

Dymaxion replica
Overview
Manufacturer The Dymaxion Corporation
Bridgeport, Connecticut
41°10′02.1″N 73°10′49.1″W / 41.167250°N 73.180306°W / 41.167250; -73.180306
Also called 4D Transport
Production 1933
three prototypes built
Assembly Bridgeport, Connecticut
Designer Bucky Fuller with Starling Burgess and Isamu Noguchi
Body and chassis
Class Concept car
Body style Sheet aluminum on ash frame
Layout RF layout
Platform Varied per prototype: double or triple hinged, cromoly steel
Powertrain
Engine Ford flathead V8
Transmission Ford
Dimensions
Length 20 ft (6,096.0 mm)

The Omni-Media-Transport:
With such a vehicle at our disposal, [Fuller] felt that human travel, like that of birds, would nolonger be confined to airports, roads, and other bureaucratic boundaries, and that autonomous free-thinking human beings could live and prosper wherever they chose.[1]
— Lloyd S. Sieden, Bucky Fuller's Universe, 2000

To his young daughter Allegra:
Fuller described the Dymaxion as a "zoom-mobile, explaining that it could hop off the road at will, fly about, then, as deftly as a bird, settle back into a place in traffic."[2]

The Dymaxion car, c.1933, artist Diego Rivera shown entering the car, carrying coat

The Dymaxion car was designed by American inventor Buckminster Fuller during the Great Depression and featured prominently at Chicago's 1933-1934 World's Fair.[3] Fuller built three experimental prototypes with naval architect Starling Burgess — using gifted money as well as a family inheritance[4][5] — to explore not an automobile per se, but the 'ground-taxiing phase' of a vehicle that might one day be designed to fly, land and drive — an "Omni-Medium Transport".[6] Fuller associated the word Dymaxion with much of his work, a portmanteau of the words dynamic, maximum, and tension,[7] to summarize his goal to do more with less.[8]

The Dymaxion's aerodynamic bodywork was designed for increased fuel efficiency and top speed, and its platform featured a lightweight hinged chassis, rear-mounted V8 engine, front-wheel drive (a rare RF layout), and three wheels. With steering via its third wheel at the rear (capable of 90° steering lock), the vehicle could steer itself in a tight circle, often causing a sensation.[9][10] Fuller noted severe limitations in its handling, especially at high speed or in high wind, due to its rear-wheel steering (highly unsuitable for anything but low speeds) and the limited understanding of the effects of lift and turbulence on automobile bodies in that era — allowing only trained staff to drive the car and saying it "was an invention that could not be made available to the general public without considerable improvements."[1] Shortly after its launch, a prototype crashed after being hit by another car, killing the Dymaxion's driver.[11][12] Subsequent investigations exonerated the prototype.[11]

Despite courting publicity and the interest of auto manufacturers, Fuller used his inheritance to finish the second and third prototypes,[13] selling all three, dissolving Dymaxion Corporation and reiterating that the Dymaxion was never intended as a commercial venture.[14] One of the three original prototypes survives, and two semi-faithful[15] replicas have recently been constructed. The Dymaxion was included in the 2009 book Fifty Cars That Changed The World[16] and was the subject of the 2012 documentary The Last Dymaxion.

In 2008, the New York Times said Fuller "saw the Dymaxion, as he saw much of the world, as a kind of provisional prototype, a mere sketch, of the glorious, eventual future."[5]

History

Fuller would ultimately go on to fully develop his Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science, his theory of using all technology on behalf of all people as soon as possible,[17] but by this point it was "his job, Fuller decided, to identify a problem, develop a way to solve it, and wait--perhaps as long as twenty-five years--for public awareness to catch up.[17]

In 1930, Fuller had purchased an architectural magazine, T-Square, which he ultimately renamed Shelter.[17] Fuller edited the magazine anonymously for two years,[17] and in 1928 published sketches of his land-air-water vehicle, called a 4D Transport.[6] 4D stood for Four Dimensional,[18] a term used in physics and mathematics, referring to length, width, depth and time.[17]

Regarding the 4D transport, author Lloyd S. Sieden, wrote in his 2000 book Bucky Fuller's Universe:

With such a vehicle at our disposal, [Fuller] felt that human travel, like that of birds, would no longer be confined to airports, roads, and other bureaucratic boundaries, and that autonomous free-thinking human beings could live and prosper wherever they chose.[1]

To his daughter, Allegra, he described the Dymaxion as:

A "zoomobile", explaining that it could hop off the road at will, fly about, then, as deftly as a bird, settle back into a place in traffic.[2]

Fuller was offered $5,000 (2015: $91,000) from wealthy former stock trader and socialite Philip (variously reported as Phillip) Pearson and his wife Temple Pearson (niece of Isadora Duncan) of Philadelphia.[4] Pearson was a stock broker and had presciently sold short a large quantity of stock before the Great Depression, becoming instantly wealthy. Pearson had known of Fuller's studies, had more wealth than he needed, and felt he could put Fuller and others to work in a way that would also do something to alleviate unemployment.[1]

The Dymaxion Corporation factory at the defunct Locomobile dynamometer building, Tongue Pointe, Bridgeport, CT

Fuller initially refused his benefactor, concerned about potential profit motives and short-sightedness. Fuller devised a contract, famously adding a so-called "ice cream soda clause" where Fuller could freely buy only ice cream sodas with all the donated money, should he so choose.[1]

On March 4, 1933 — as President Roosevelt instituted a banking moratorium, Fuller formed Dymaxion Corporation, set up a workshop in the former dynamometer building of the defunct Locomobile Company at Tongue Point, on the west side of the harbor in Bridgeport, Connecticut,[15] and hired naval architect Starling Burgess and a team of 27 workmen, including former Rolls-Royce mechanics.[4] 1000 workmen had applied for the 27 jobs.[1] The first of three prototypes was completed in three months — on Fuller's 38th birthday, July 12, 1933.

On October 18, 1933, Fuller filed a patent,[15] which was granted in 1937.[19]

Design

Because he was aiming for what Fuller called Omni Medium Transport, a vehicle that could go anywhere,[1] the Dymaxion would ultimately have "wheels for ground travel and jet stilts for instant takeoff and flight."[1] Jet stilts were Fuller's placeholder idea for a future technology that could provide compact, concentrated lift — twenty years before the invention of jets.[1]

Estimating that designing a land-sea-air vehicle was then financially and technically out of reach, Fuller focused on the most dangerous and challenging mode of such vehicle: landing and taxiing on hard ground.[22]

Fuller favored front-wheel drive, studying the way a wheelbarrow could more effectively pull its load rather than pitch forward when pushing a load.[1] He began studies of the relationships between vehicles (cars, trucks — and also birds and fish) with the media in which they operated (fluid dynamics)[1] — as well as steering mechanisms in nature, especially the rear "single fin" steering of birds and fish.[1] Burgess, inventor of the first delta-wing aircraft, was invaluable to the project — but skeptical the vehicle would ever fly.[1]

Fuller theorized that getting a long, aerodynamic 'plane' fuselage — which was also inclined to have trailing, rear steering — to land safely and not immediately turn into the wind, would be a major challenge.[22] The vehicle would inherently exhibit something he called "ground-loopiness,"[22] and chose to focus his energy there.[1][22] Although it was never intended as such, Fuller anticipated the public would instinctively call such a vehicle an automobile, and when licensing to drive the vehicle on Connecticut roads, acquiesced and applied for an automobile registration.[1][22]

Fuller had worked with sculptor Isamu Noguchi to create plaster wind tunnel models of the Dymaxion to help determine its teardrop shape. Authors of a 2011 detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis at Coventry University of the Dymaxion bodywork noted the form's "similarity in shape to a humpback whale" and concluded "the Dymaxion car looks close to a drag optimum style and serves as a useful reference for low drag forms."[19]

Prototypes One, Two and Three

Videos: In contemporary videos (see External Links, below), Fuller is seen driving the vehicle at high speed. In another Fuller showing off his speeding ticket, demonstrating its ability to turn "on itself", easily parallel parking in a space only six inches longer than the car, remarking that he averaged over 22 mpg (up to 30 mpg), and commenting on its stability, with a center of gravity both low and ahead of the midpoint of its wheelbase.

Later prototype history

In 1934, Noguchi drove a completed Dymaxion on an extended road trip through Connecticut with Clare Boothe Luce and Dorothy Hale, stopping to see Thornton Wilder in Hamden, Connecticut, before driving to Hartford for the out-of-town opening of Gertrude Stein’s and Virgil Thompson's Four Saints in Three Acts.[30][31]

One of the prototypes was driven extensively in a campaign to raise funds in support of the Allies in WWII.[25]

Handling limitations

Everything in the Universe is in always moving in the direction of least resistance. When what we call a light plane,one flown by an individual, lands crosswind, its fairing or streamlining makes it want to turn violently in the direction of the wind—the direction of least resistance. This is called ground looping. I realized that the most difficult conditions for my omni-medium jet-stilt superbly faired flying device would be when it was on the ground. What is popularly called the Dymaxion Car were the first three vehicles designed to test ground taxiing under transverse wind conditions.[13]
— Bucky Fuller, 1983

Fuller and Burgess realized early that the Dymaxion concept would present considerable challenges.[1][22] As anticipated, and in line with the purpose of the exploration,[22] maneuvering in high winds proved problematic, with the vehicle having a strong tendency to turn into the wind.[1][22] The high forces caused large distortions on the tires, as well, making steering difficult.[1] High speed travel could induce low pressure at the rear of the vehicle, causing the rear of the vehicle to lift.[1]

Fuller realized the Dymaxion "was an invention that could not be made available to the general public without considerable improvements," and instituted a program of constant refinement and improvement to the platform.[1]

Because of its limitations, Fuller and Burgess limited driving to a list of trained drivers and eliminated driving the vehicle in high winds or inclement weather.[1]

Speed record

Soon after launching Prototype One, Fuller was invited to exhibit the Dymaxion at a Bronx race track, beating the track record by 50% and drawing attention because it didn't slide or drift across the track like the other race cars.[1]

Accidents

A highly publicized[15] accident in Prototype One on October 27, 1933 occurred "virtually at the entrance to the Chicago Century of Progress World's Fair."[27] Another car, driven by a Chicago South Park Commissioner, had hit the Dymaxion, causing it to roll over — killing the dymaxion's driver (race car driver Francis T. Turner of Birmingham, Alabama) and seriously injuring its passengers: aviation pioneer (and noted spy) William Sempill — and Charles Dollfuss, Air Minister of France.[15] The politician's car was quickly and illegally removed from the scene of the accident before reporters arrived.[1] Turner was wearing a seatbelt, but was killed when the canvas-covered roof framing collapsed.[1] Dollfuss was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected and landed nearby on his feet.[1] Sempill was severely injured and took months to recover before he could testify at the subsequent inquest.[1] The Dymaxion itself had rolled over and was badly damaged, but was subsequently repaired by Fuller and Burgess.[27]

In the press, no mention was made that the Dymaxion had been involved in a two-car accident. Instead, the cause of the accident was attributed to the car’s unconventional configuration: headlines in New York and Chicago read "Freak car rolls over -- killing famous driver -- injuring international passengers".[32]

The subsequent formal investigation, a coroners inquest (because someone had died) was delayed sixty days, in order to receive Sempill's testimony. It found the actual cause of the impact was a collision with a car driven by the Chicago South Park commissioner[27] who wanted a closer look at the Dymaxion[15] — and immediately left the scene after hitting the Dymaxion and causing the accident.[4][15] According to the official coroners inquest, the two vehicles were traveling at 70 mph, with Turner trying to evade the politician's car.[27] The inquest found the design of the Dymaxion was not a factor in the accident.[1]

Fuller himself would later crash Prototype Two, with his only surviving daughter, Allegra (Allegra Fuller Snyder) aboard.[33]

Auto industry

Fuller received interest from Walter Chrysler, Henry Ford, and Henry Kaiser as well as companies including Packard, Studebaker and Curtiss-Wright.[1]

Chrysler said Fuller had "produced exactly the car [he'd] always wanted to produce," when his company had set out to designed a highly advanced, aerodynamic car, the Airflow, which Walter Chrysler ultimately found inferior.[1] Chrysler commissioned Fuller to study the development of the Airflow, finding Fuller had used one quarter the money and a third the time to make his prototype.[9]

At various points, it appeared several manufacturers were interested in marketing the Dymaxion. Walter Chrysler was interested — though he advised Fuller that such an advanced design would meet considerable resistance[1] and would make every used car on the road obsolete, threatening the wholesale dealer distribution and finance network.[9] In his 1988 book The Age of Heretics, author Art Kleiner said bankers had threatened to recall their loans, feeling the car would destroy sales for second-hand cars and for vehicles already in the distribution channels.[9]

Replicas

2010 replica of 1933 Dymaxion, by Norman Foster

Hemmings Motor News cites two "faithful or semi-faithful" replicas:[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Lloyd Steven Sieden (August 11, 2000). "Buckminster Fuller's Universe". Basic Books.
  2. 1 2 "R. (Richard) Buckminster Fuller 1895-1983". Coachbuilt.com.
  3. ↑ US 2101057
  4. 1 2 3 4 Frank Magill (1999). "The 20th Century A-GI: Dictionary of World Biography, Volume 7". Routledge. p. 1266.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Phil Patton (June 2, 2008). "A 3-Wheel Dream That Died at Takeoff". The New York Times.
  6. 1 2 Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 104.
  7. ↑ Sieden, Lloyd Steven (2000). Buckminster Fuller's Universe. Basic Books. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-7382-0379-9.
  8. ↑ McHale, John (1962). R. Buckminster Fuller. Prentice-Hall. p. 17.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Art Kleiner (April 2008). "The Age of Heretics". Jossey Bass, Warren Bennis Signature Series. In 1934, Fuller had interested auto magnate Walter Chrysler in financing his Dymaxion car, a durable, three-wheeled, aerodynamic land vehicle modeled after an airplane fuselage. Fuller had built three models that drew enthusiastic crowds wherever. Like all Fuller's other projects (he was responsible for refining and developing the geodesic dome, the first practical dome structure) it was inexpensive, durable and energy efficient; Fuller worked diligently to cut back the amount of material and energy used by any product he designed. "You've produced exactly the car I've always wanted to produce," the mechanically apt Chrysler told him. Then Chrysler noted ruefully, Fuller had taken one-third the time and one fourth the money Chrysler's corporation usually spent producing prototypes — prototypes Chrysler himself usually hated in the end. For a few months, it had seemed Chrysler would go ahead and introduce Fuller's car. But the banks that financed Chrysler's wholesale distributors vetoed the move by threatening to call in their loans. The bankers were afraid (or so Fuller said years later) that an advanced new design would diminish the value of the unsold motor vehicles in dealers' showrooms. For every new car sold, five used cars had to be sold to finance the distribution and production chain, and those cars would not sell if Fuller's invention made them obsolete.
  10. 1 2 Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 29.
  11. 1 2 "Passenger Files: Francis T. Turner, Colonel William Francis Forbes-Sempill and Charles Dollfuss". Stanford University Archives. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012.
  12. ↑ Davey G. Johnson (March 18, 2015). "Maximum Dynamism! Jeff Lane's Fuller Dymaxion Replica Captures Insane Cool of the Originals". Car and Driver.
  13. 1 2 R. Buckminster Fuller (1983). Inventions: The Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller. St. Martin's Press.
  14. ↑ "About Fuller, Session 9, Part 15". Bucky Fuller Institute.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kurt Ernst (March 27, 2014). "Cars of Futures Past – Dymaxion 4D Transport". Hemmings Motor News.
  16. ↑ Andrew Nahum (2009). "Fifty Cars that Changed the World". Conran Octopus.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Olive Hoogenboom (February 2000). "R. Buckminster Fuller". American National Biography.
  18. ↑ Fuller, Buckminster (1983). Inventions, The Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller. St. Martin's Press. p. 30.
  19. 1 2 3 Geoff Le Good; Chris Johnson; Brian Clough; Rob Lewis (June 9, 2011). "The Aesthetics of Low Drag Vehicles" (PDF). Hemmings Motor News.
  20. 1 2 Daniel Strohl (May 20, 2013). "Dymaxion blueprints discovered in attic going up for auction". Hemmings Motor News.
  21. ↑ Daniel Strohl (November 13, 2009). "In search of the birthplace of the Dymaxion". Hemmings Motor News.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bucky Fuller (1975). Dymaxion Automobile R. Buckminster Fuller (Video).
  23. ↑ "Bucky car". WNET (article). Thirteen.org. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  24. 1 2 Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 109.
  25. 1 2 Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 113.
  26. ↑ Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 111.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 30.
  28. ↑ "Dymaxion Car Restored". Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  29. ↑ Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. pp. 30, 113.
  30. ↑ Gorman, Michael John (March 12, 2002). "Passenger Files: Isamo Noguchi, 1904-1988". Towards a cultural history of Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion Car. Stanford Humanities Lab. Archived from the original on Sep 16, 2007. Later in 1934, Noguchi went on a road trip through Connecticut in the completed Dymaxion car with Clare Boothe Luce and Dorothy Hale – stopping to see Thornton Wilder in Hamden, Connecticut, before going onto Hartford for the out-of-town opening of Gertrude Stein’s and Virgil Thompson's Four Saints in Three Acts.
  31. ↑ Herrera, Hayden (1983). Frida, a biography of Frida Kahlo. San Francisco: Harper & Row. pp. 289–294. ISBN 0-06-091127-1.
  32. ↑ Marks, Robert (1973). The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller. Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 112.
  33. ↑ Jonathan Glancey (October 5, 2010). "Norman Foster's back-to-front car". The Guardian.
  34. ↑ Allsop, Laura (October 15, 2010). "Norman Foster's futuristic concept car". CNN.
  35. ↑ "Dymaxion Car Restored". Synchronofile.com. 2009-09-19. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  36. ↑ "Dymaxion - O'Rourke CoachTrimmers". Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  37. ↑ "Dymaxion car 2 - O'Rourke CoachTrimmers". Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  38. ↑ Dan Neil (April 24, 2015). "A Test Drive of the Death-Trap Car Designed by Buckminster Fuller". The Wall Street Journal.
  39. ↑ Jamie Lincoln Kitman (April 27, 2015). "Test Drives: The Dymaxion Car". Cartalk.com.

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