Leela Motors

Drag race: actual numbers for acceleration are not available at the moment, but something that happened last weekend gives an idea of the cars performance. At the Alfa Tech session at Rathmann Auto Works in Poway one of the Alfa owners asked if I would like to do a drag race with him. I asked against what? Against an Alfa Spider with a 5.0 Ford V8 in it! My next question was, " how fast is it to 60?" He said about 5.5 seconds. I estimated that the Leela was right about the same, so I said 'yes'.

After the tech session was over we warmed up our motors and lined up on the road in front of the industrial park. BTW- this is at the end of the park with very little traffic, on a weekend to boot. We decided to do a rolling start rather than a standing start. Not wanting to be right beside the Alfa I let him go a little ahead of me and as he went by I hit it. Off we went screaming through 1st gear cars dancing a little sideways. When I hit 2nd and let the clutch out the Leela goes to the left about 1 foot, so it was good JJ Romeo was not beside me. All through 2 nd, and into third I was right off his bumper. I could see when he changed gears because a cloud of black smoke would come out of the exhaust pipes. We got to about 5000 rpm in 3rd gear before we ran out of road and had to slow down.

We turned around and went back towards the shop, and it was so much fun I asked if he would like to do it again. So we lined up and repeated the same with the same results: the cars were almost identical in acceleration. I'd forgotten what a rush it is to compete against someone else. Can't wait for the time trial at Pomona this weekend (Feb.25th). Now we'll se how it handles.

(Will post photos and video of the upcoming event.)

Currently the car has a stock 2.5 liter Milano motor that hasn't been touched in over 12 years. It still runs reliably and sounds great. Another engine is being prepared which will have significantly more horsepower coupled to a limited slip differential. With special cams, balanced, ported, and other tweaks, we want to get as much power as we can and still run on pump gas. After all this car is designed to be driven on roads as well as on the track.

Philosophy: 

Our philosophy is simple: keep it light, strong, functional, and of course it has to look good. So while the design does not exactly 'copy' anything, those familiar with older Alfa race cars will no doubt see some family resemblance. 

In designing the chassis there is a fine line between speed and safety. The lighter the better for speed but making it crashworthy is also important. So the chassis is designed in such a way as to make it as safe as reasonably possible and at the same time keep it 'competitively' light. Power is not the problem. The 2.5, 3.0, or 3.3 litre Alfa motors can make plenty of power. At Laguna Seca I have seen a 1600 cc Lotus Super 7 beat a 427 Cobra, and a Chevron 2 litre beat a 1000 hp 917 Porsche. A big engine has an advantage on high speed tracks with long straights, but a light car with excellent handling and a good motor is hard to beat on a tight turn track.

With the new engine we are hoping to get 210=220 hp, and with a weight of 1725 lbs. giving app. 7.8 lbs per hp. the Leela should prove to be a lot of fun. For comparisons sake a Porsche Turbo with 420 hp weighing 3400 lbs. is 8.09 lbs./hp. A Zo6 Corvette with 610 hp weighing 3500 lbs. is 5.73 lbs. per hp.  To match the Corvettes numbers the Leela would need 301 hp. This does not take into account the fact that the Leela is a lot lighter and in corners and braking it should be substantially faster.

In an attempt to keep the chassis weight down, thin wall tubing was used spaced appropriately to give good strength and stiffness. Solid shafts such as the steering column were replaced with tubing. Thick bolts were drilled out. The current weight of 1725 includes the passenger seat and the .120 w.t. roll bar, which combined weigh app. 80-90 lbs.

Last year the Leela had its first outing at Willow Springs Raceway, where it ran nicely, just a couple of minor issues. But before going to the track the car needed to be 'teched.' Mike Mulligan, owner of MRD in Vista, Ca did this when we put on the scales the weight distribution was within 8 lbs of 50/50. The diagonal weight difference was less than 18 lbs.! This is with me sitting in the car and a ¼ tank of gas. Careful placing of the battery, fuel pump, coolant tank on the passenger side of the car paid off.

The car has been driven on the road now and is doing well with no real problems. It runs cool, the rear tires don't touch the body any more, and it starts when you turn the key! All good stuff. This morning we left in the dark to go to Cars & Coffee in Irvine. Now that I'm getting over my anxiety of driving the car, it is a blast to drive! The springs and shocks are so stiff though that if the road isn't smooth it is a rough ride. When the road is smooth it seems the faster you go the better it likes it. Cruising at 4000 rpm (around 100 mph) is effortless. Can't wait to be on the right road and open it up.

Next track event we hope to make is Willow Springs on Jan. 22, 2012. This time I feel safe pushing it some more.

Performance-wise my goal has always been to be able to stay with or outrun a Corvette or a Viper in a straight line. Cornering and braking are the Leela's strong points so it should do well there. We'll keep you posted.