NELSON

Nelson Kruschandl named the first car he designed the 'Borzoi' after the swift Russian hunting dogs, this single seat sports car was built to evaluate a 'Joystick' type twin handle control concept, British patent number 2253379. Weighing in at 1,600lbs, the 0-60 time was impressive at around 4 seconds using a Peugeot 2.8 V6 injection PRV engine. A top speed of 170mph was limited by the final drive ratio. A Renault electronic three speed automatic gearbox was eventually fitted mated to a more sedate 2.5 litre unit with carbs.

Nelson Kruschandl - specialist car designer

The car had a double wishbone independent setup, with disc brakes all round and a hybrid twin coil rear, and rubber cone front suspension.

A good way to learn how to form metal, is to build a car from scratch. Be prepared to get dirty and to make a few mistakes. Ally sheeting is expensive, so also be prepared to get in trouble with the girlfriend. Ally is softer than steel and easier to form, but is much harder to weld, and you are likely to need specialist welding equipment.

Nelson Kruschandl testing the Borzoi's seating

I was a jeweller for a time, hence used to small tolerances, and used to forming metal into shapes. You may want to try bending wire into accurate shapes before trying to shape panels on sheet metal. If you cannot weld, use pop rivets. Some of the panels in the body above were formed over my knee. For tight radius bends, use a vice and angle iron to fold the metal.

With practice and precise marking using fine tipped felt markers (Projector) you can make surprisingly nice parts. Remember which side of the line you are bending from - now worries. I used tin snips and an electric jigsaw to cut the sheets. When cutting frequently blow the filings away to stop surface marking.

Nelson Kruschandl making the Borzoi's alloy bodywork

Pull back to accelerate - push forward to brake and just point left or right to steer. What could be simpler? Nelson Kruschandl built the Borzoi single seat sports car to evaluate the 'Joystick' type twin handle lever control shown below, the subject of British patent 2253379, granted in June of 1992.

The Borzoi's twin handled combination lever controls with switchgear (joystick)

Even before it was completed, the Borzoi was used to demonstrate the ease with which one handed driving may be achieved. Featured in several media articles in 1990, including: The Evening Argus, Eastbourne Gazette and Evening Standard, and Meridian television, then appeared at the Bexhill 100 motor festival in 1991 and the Daily Telegraph in 1992.

With a 0-60 time of 4 seconds and a top speed of 170mph good vehicle control is essential. That was why a sports car was built to test out this combination lever control.

Unfortunately, the power steering rack was never fitted to truly show the system at its best. Unlike the GM joystick cars of the sixties and Volvo joystick cars of the eighties, the Borzoi used a mechanical configuration, to comply with DOT safety regulations, so could be incorporated into production vehicles.

It was used to demonstrate the ease with which one handed driving may be achieved. First appearing at the Bexhill 100 motor festival in 1990. Unlike the GM joystick cars of the sixties and Volvo joystick cars of the eighties, the Borzoi used a mechanical configuration, to comply with DOT safety regulations.

At one point Vauxhall GM via their Opel counterpart based in Germany, expressed an interest in the concept, which was unfortunately put on hold due to other investment priorities and cutbacks. Who knows, we might have been driving interesting joystick cars had this project gone ahead. Nelson is now developing a solar powered buggy, and is inviting investors and investment from any individual or group of businesses. NK

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