With the snow we’ve been getting almost every day here in the ‘burgh it seems like we might be getting further from rolls rather than closer, so maybe I’ll stop talking about it. Hope everyone is enjoying the polls in the mean time.
This week’s topic is a nod to the furious activity presumably going on in a few of the garages around campus over the last couple of months: new buggy builds. All builds are great for us observers because it us something new to talk about and adds another buggy name to our already strained memories, but some take it to the next level. I’m not talking fastest-buggy-on-the-course though, I’m talking, “What the #$(*% did they do there?!” Those buggy designs that turn heads when they hit the course, and then gather a crowd at design comp are the ones we’re honoring here. I’m sure I’m missing some stellar contenders, but to make this list, the criteria were:
- Built in the last 10 yearsish
- Featuring one specific visible design element worth talking about
- the key feature wasn’t just a badly done implementation of something normal, but a really wacky concept.
And the contenders are:
| Brooklyn, Fringe (1998) : The backwards buggy. It wasn’t the first time someone had tried the luge format, and surely it won’t be the last, but it owned the late 90’s feet first movement. |  |
| Kamikaze, AEPi (2009) : The tallest short buggy, or, The shortest tall buggy there ever was. The shell design that always has me thinking, “optical illusion?” Nope those are the proportions. |  |
| Keres, Pioneers (2007) : Pimp My Ride‘s buggy edition hit the course with the biggest rims and by far the biggest ride height. It had an SUV-style rollover at capes, but nobody ever talked back when it said “get out da way” |  |
| Messiah, SigEp (2008) : At the other end of the spectrum, wheels so small nobody ever saw them. Word was they were inline wheels, but who’s to say it wasn’t maglev or hovercraft tech. |  |
| Valkerie, Pioneers (2004) : the aluminum aircraft strut airfoil pushbar was beautiful in its simplicty. $60 or so and you had a rock solid pushbar that would definitely do the job. The obvious next question is why not make 5 angled cuts and 5 welds to change that straight airfoil into an awkwardly curved one. The worst part was they already had a buggy named Scorpion. |  |
| Wendigo, PiKA (2005) : How else could you complicate the pushbar? Why not make it so thin that it’s hard to see in pictures. That way the buggy will be so light that nobody will need to push it! |  |
Which recent buggy turned the most heads with its crazy design choices?
- Brooklyn : "feet first for fast" (48%, 20 Votes)
- Valkerie : "5 miter welds to KISS" (26%, 11 Votes)
- Keres : "sittin on dos-two's" (14%, 6 Votes)
- Messiah : "wheels smaller than every hole in the road" (12%, 5 Votes)
- Kamikaze : "the tallest shortest buggy" (0%, 0 Votes)
- Wendigo : "the pushbar that makes everyone feel adequate" (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 42
Nominate overlooked buggies in the comments and/or send in suggestions for next week.
Carsen says:
I would have voted for the DU transparent buggy with bright yellow frame and cast steel wheels from ~2002.
lemuroid says:
messiah: wheels smaller than every hole in the road.
Been there, done that back in spring of 87. The little guys were on the back and sucked. ~4 weeks of fun and then back to the 12 inch monsters for race day. I am not aware of any surviving photos.
DangerMike says:
There is nothing more satisfying than having what was in your head become real. There is nothing more humbling than reality showing you how horribly wrong you were about so many things.
the cook says:
brooklyn – although I must admit that the same basic thought crossed my mind (briefly) 10 years before, the fact that it also ended up weighing twice as much as any other buggy of its era is the very definition of abject failure
Anonymous says:
What no Renaissance? Its crazier than most of the buggies on this list by alot.
Sam Swift says:
Carsen: I was going to include the clear DU buggy, but I thought that it might have been quite a bit older. Was it new when it came out in 2002?
Cook: I don’t think anyone denies that Brooklyn was a bit of a lovable misstep, but abject failure doesn’t seem accurate. The fact that it led directly to Bachi which weighed almost nothing and got 2nd place 2 years later means that it contributed plenty in my book.
Anonymous: Renaissance is an interesting suggestion. I don’t think I even considered it when I was making my list. I am fascinated by it as evidenced by how many pictures of it I take and post from freerolls, but no one design feature strikes me as really wacky. Am I missing something you’d like to share with us?
DeVos says:
The only really wacky thing about Renaissance is the asymmetry. That might have warranted inclusion but I don’t think it’s “What the @#$% did they do there?”
Desiderio says:
Yeah I was mostly referring to Rennaissance’s bizarre geometry. It wasn’t quite meant to be so asymmetrical, but going to the drawing board to real life can have some unfortunate consequences. That said after talking with the AEPi guys it seems like kamikaze was another instance of screwing up during building what was a good design.