Monday, June 15, 2009

Florian Jenett Can-Am Corolla Goes Green With Recyclable Aero Aids


Back in the mid-90s, Florian Jenett wanted to go Can-Am racing. Never one to let obstacles dismay him, he ignored people that told him, “You can’t afford to go racing on a German artist’s salary” or “Can-Am racing died in 1974.” Instead, he put together the Corolla-based racecar you see here. Complete with a homemade K&N filter conversion (necessitating a hood bulge) and sans catalytic converter, it was capable of over 100mph — at which speed its handling became unpredictable.

To solve this problem, Florian fitted aerodynamic aids both front and rear. While he never had the time to test their effect in a wind tunnel, the artist estimates they provide upwards of 350kg of downforce at 85 mph. Florian went so far as to ship the car to America for the 1996 race season before discovering that the series no longer existed. Faced with returning home to the “I told you so’s” of his neighbors, Florian decided to pass the car off as an art project, stating, “I dunno, I guess it’s a comment on the materialism of performance or something.” [Florian Jenett via Autofiends]

More Pictures HERE.

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