Little Runge Coupe
September 16, 2016 11:32 AM Subscribe
Christopher Runge designs and builds cars, by hand, one at a time. Here's his "Frankfurt Flyer" Sport Racer.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble
I am in awe. Just speechless. Seeing stuff like this makes me feel so inadequate. If I could just get off my ass and get my shit together enough to do half the project Runge takes on with a car.
posted by 2N2222 at 1:34 PM on September 16, 2016
posted by 2N2222 at 1:34 PM on September 16, 2016
That is awesome.
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:21 PM on September 16, 2016
posted by Bringer Tom at 3:21 PM on September 16, 2016
Very cool car. Did Jason graduate from the Fieri School of Hyperventilating?
posted by ccaajj aka chrispy at 4:20 PM on September 16, 2016
posted by ccaajj aka chrispy at 4:20 PM on September 16, 2016
Having the time and money to do that is a dream of mine.
That's where my mind goes. How many incredible creations are we completely missing out on from people of other perspectives besides the white male car enthusiast? What would it look like for other kinds of people to have resources like these at their leisure? It's almost too hard (for the sadness) to imagine.
posted by an animate objects at 4:52 PM on September 16, 2016
That's where my mind goes. How many incredible creations are we completely missing out on from people of other perspectives besides the white male car enthusiast? What would it look like for other kinds of people to have resources like these at their leisure? It's almost too hard (for the sadness) to imagine.
posted by an animate objects at 4:52 PM on September 16, 2016
Does one of the links give the cost for what he sells these for? I couldn't find it but might have missed it. They are very pretty indeed.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:28 PM on September 16, 2016
posted by Dip Flash at 5:28 PM on September 16, 2016
Volvo did a concept designed entirely by women in 2004, an inanimate object.
posted by Harald74 at 1:41 PM on September 17, 2016
posted by Harald74 at 1:41 PM on September 17, 2016
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because that's a pretty ugly car in the linked video. It's cool that he made it my hand, but jeez, those welds on the door were very "I can melt metal together."
posted by Mr. Big Business at 3:06 PM on September 17, 2016
posted by Mr. Big Business at 3:06 PM on September 17, 2016
The beauty of the car is not how it looks but how it moves.
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:35 PM on September 17, 2016
posted by Bringer Tom at 4:35 PM on September 17, 2016
This post really leaves me wanting to know so much more. In the video, we see the initial sketches, but then we don't see much of the design or assembly processes before they start putting the body panels on. The cars are intriguing, but Dip Flash raises a good question... they don't tell us how much these cars cost. And Mr. Big Business makes a good point that the welding on the door is not very skillful.
So that makes me wonder what is the minimum amount of time, money, and personnel it would take to build a car from scratch. It is a question that has been bothering me ever since my nephew said, "Let's build a car!" I know the process depends a lot on how many OEM components you use. But what kind of CAD setup would work best? What machine tools would you need? Would 3D printing help? Perspiring minds want to know!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 9:56 PM on September 18, 2016
So that makes me wonder what is the minimum amount of time, money, and personnel it would take to build a car from scratch. It is a question that has been bothering me ever since my nephew said, "Let's build a car!" I know the process depends a lot on how many OEM components you use. But what kind of CAD setup would work best? What machine tools would you need? Would 3D printing help? Perspiring minds want to know!
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 9:56 PM on September 18, 2016
For what it's worth, a company called Icon builds (among other projects) replicas of the Willys Jeep based largely on OEM running gear, starting at $80,000 USD.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 10:13 PM on September 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 10:13 PM on September 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Harald74, wasn't that the one where the hood was non-openable because "women don't want to have to think about that stuff?" I saw that as a prime example of how women-powered design and marketing groups can still come up with shockingly sexist products.
Anyway, that was an exercise in design research and PR done by a major industrial corporation, not an example of the kinds of things that marginalized people come up with when given the time and resources to create things that speak to them.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:19 AM on September 19, 2016
Anyway, that was an exercise in design research and PR done by a major industrial corporation, not an example of the kinds of things that marginalized people come up with when given the time and resources to create things that speak to them.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:19 AM on September 19, 2016
Multicellular, I think that depends a lot on what standards you are building to. A go-kart is clearly a car for most practical definitions of the term, and is eminently buildable in a garage by someone with some basic mechanical skills, a set of plans, and a couple thousand dollars to spend. Your nephew could even help you make it.
On the other end of the spectrum are road-legal cars that could theoretically compete with the cars that are sold today at retail. I would guess that something like this would be completely out of reach for a home builder. The testing and standards-compliance alone would probably be totally prohibitive. Nobody is going to be making the equivalent of a Honda Civic in their workshop.
And then there's a whole spectrum of possibilities in between, including several options where you might end up with a commercially viable (if very niche) product at the end. It really depends on what your goal is, but for certain definitions of "car," the "let's build a car!" project is really totally doable. It probably helps a lot if you decide you don't need it to be road-legal.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:27 AM on September 19, 2016
On the other end of the spectrum are road-legal cars that could theoretically compete with the cars that are sold today at retail. I would guess that something like this would be completely out of reach for a home builder. The testing and standards-compliance alone would probably be totally prohibitive. Nobody is going to be making the equivalent of a Honda Civic in their workshop.
And then there's a whole spectrum of possibilities in between, including several options where you might end up with a commercially viable (if very niche) product at the end. It really depends on what your goal is, but for certain definitions of "car," the "let's build a car!" project is really totally doable. It probably helps a lot if you decide you don't need it to be road-legal.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 8:27 AM on September 19, 2016
Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The, I certainly agree with you that the scope of the project "depends a lot on what standards you are building to." The Worlds Most Precocious Nephew wants to build an all-terrain vehicle and drive it like a maniac around the countryside. That may be feasible in a home workshop, but it is probably faster, cheaper, and more reliable to go to the retailer and just buy one out of their inventory. At the extreme end, the most niche, bespoke cars in existence are the Formula 1 race cars, which require a corporation-sized budget and an army of engineers, designers, machinists, technicians, lawyers, and so on.
I'm curious to see if it would be feasible to re-create something like the 1959 BMW 507, which is beautiful, but uses a 1950s pushrod/carburetor engine, and starts at $1,500,000. Or a Delorean DMC-12, which looks striking, but is lumbered with design compromises. But, yeah, to build a car that is road-legal and somehow fits our heart's desire better than anything available from a manufacturer is probably an "if I won the lottery" proposition.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 4:41 PM on September 19, 2016
I'm curious to see if it would be feasible to re-create something like the 1959 BMW 507, which is beautiful, but uses a 1950s pushrod/carburetor engine, and starts at $1,500,000. Or a Delorean DMC-12, which looks striking, but is lumbered with design compromises. But, yeah, to build a car that is road-legal and somehow fits our heart's desire better than anything available from a manufacturer is probably an "if I won the lottery" proposition.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 4:41 PM on September 19, 2016
In the video, we see the initial sketches, but then we don't see much of the design or assembly processes before they start putting the body panels on.
They do mention that he has a semi-standardized chassis, suspension, and drivetrain system so his various car projects now mostly are differentiated by trim and bodywork.
A cheap way around the road-legal problem is to build a car with three wheels; no matter how enclosed and car-like it is it will be licensed as a motorcycle and the rules are much more tolerant. I actually bought a set of plans when I was a teen in the 1970's; that project used a junkyard Datsun rear end but fabricated the one-wheel front suspension and fiberglass body from scratch. After seeing the plans I realized it would require a lot more tools, skills, and workspace than I had but the magazine featured several full builds in the following year.
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:24 PM on September 20, 2016
They do mention that he has a semi-standardized chassis, suspension, and drivetrain system so his various car projects now mostly are differentiated by trim and bodywork.
A cheap way around the road-legal problem is to build a car with three wheels; no matter how enclosed and car-like it is it will be licensed as a motorcycle and the rules are much more tolerant. I actually bought a set of plans when I was a teen in the 1970's; that project used a junkyard Datsun rear end but fabricated the one-wheel front suspension and fiberglass body from scratch. After seeing the plans I realized it would require a lot more tools, skills, and workspace than I had but the magazine featured several full builds in the following year.
posted by Bringer Tom at 2:24 PM on September 20, 2016
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posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 12:33 PM on September 16, 2016 [1 favorite]