I created this car to give an answer to my own kid's dreams. Indeed, when I was a teenager I loved to go and watch these hillclimbs and track racing event and to admire all those real racing cars that are open wheelers.
Back then, I imagined myself behind the steering wheel of one of those, feeling the extraordinary sensations that gives only an open real race car. But the reality was that I haven't had the fortune necessary to drive one of them and also the driving skills required to go fast and not to kill myself. So eventually I started go-kart racing, which is a much more affordable discipline. Later I made the choice to design and engineer cars instead of driving them but I still kept this passion on the side and stayed an amateur driver.Someday I decided that this machine affordable enough for most of the people must be created. You cannot be completely broke, but most of the middle-class peeps could potentially afford a car like that or, if not, someone else, like a racing school could rent it out to you.
Anyways, the specs were simple : make it simple, light and not expensive, keep all the ingredients that define a real racing car and the quality+safety high. And this is how was born the single seater Dragon-R Formula after about 2'000 hours of labor including designing, engineering, fabricating, and track testing to improve reliability.
I did it as a side job, in addition of my already very demanding daytime job back then which was engineer and project manager for a french company specialized in making prototypes for the big names in the automotive industry in Europe.
Technically it's designed exactly as a mix in between the professional open wheelers (formula 3...) and the go-kart world. The size is much bigger than a go-kart but it's still smaller than any other single seater, even the Formula Ford. It uses a Honda CBR 600 engine as well as a few other Honda parts such as front spindles and brakes. The chassis is a steel spaceframe without "real" suspensions and without a differential. It works exactly like a go-kart, meaning that the chassis and rear axle were calculated together in the way there is one wheel (the right one!) that slips on the ground while cornering to compensate the lack of suspensions and differential. After hours of set up, it works pretty well.
The ultralight weight of the vehicle and the precision of manufacturing make it very easy and pleasant to drive, even for a beginner. All the commands, such as steering, braking and gear shifting are very precise and made the driving experience a real pleasure. It's fast, very fast, due to a very great ration power to weight, better than a Porsche GT3 RS, but because it's very light it's very easy to stop in case of any driving mistake.
I drove a few professional open wheelers, like Formula Renault and any driving mistake is immediately punished. It's usually a spin round without any possibility to do anything: Unacceptable for a car designed for the enthusiasts... So, the chassis was set up the way that you can do something anytime in case of, and in the worst case scenario, the brakes combined with the light weight help stop the machine very quickly.
The video here shows what happen to the vehicle on a wet track when the driver make a mistake (here accelerating while cornering). The chassis go back to its trajectory while the acceleration pedal is released and the driver can continue to drive like if nothing has happened.
In conclusion this car project is a great vehicle that brings exceptional performances and sensations to the most of us. It's very easy to drive and the enjoyment is awesome. By the way, I am currently looking for partners to market it in California... :)
Above : Demonstration on a go-kart track
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