Dymaxion
Look at this road zeppelin!
The Dymaxion car was conceived in the early 1930's by architect Buckminster Fuller, in collaboration with aeronautic designer Starling Burgess and sculptor Isamu Noguchi.
Only three were produced because Dymaxion had serious stability issues, but one must say the visible originality is what made Fuller famous.
The leitmotif of Fuller's work was extreme efficiency and he took "form follows function" to its limit - and some would say past it - with the Dymaxion.
A recent short film showing a test drive (link below) in a replica built using surviving specs gives one a feel for how it was intended to work, and why the initial design fell short. “This car feels unstable at speeds above 40 miles per hour” says one of the test drivers. And on hills. And in windy weather.
That said, the Dymaxion was super-aerodynamic making it significantly more fuel efficient than any of the other cars of its day. It is an exemplar of pre-internet design thinking, what Fuller called “design science”.
Fuller's wish was to continue testing to get past the handling issues, but his ambitious project load and global ambit did not allow that to happen in his lifetime.
Some fun facts about the Dymaxion:
The name is short for Dynamic, Maximum, Tension.
It's beautiful wooden frame and interior were designed by Isamu Noguchi.
One of the three that were built was ordered by Amelia Earhart.
Steering is done via the tail wheel and gives the driver a "tiller feel” - allowing it to steer itself in a tight circle.
Although Fuller was unable to continue to optimize the design, one of his students, Sir Norman Foster built a replica and LOVES to drive it. Apparently he revels in the sensation it causes whenever he takes it out in public.
Through replicas, the Dymaxion is not parked forever in the Fuller design archives. A few of these iconic street blimps are still out there, being driven by Fullers flame keepers.
Test drive film …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1yxFDvqALI
Review of “The Last Dymaxion” documentary movie …
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/arts/design/14antiques.html
All about …
