Two members of the São Carlos School of Engineering at USP, in the interior of São Paulo, presented in 1982 the prototype of a sports car with an air-cooled Volkswagen engine, which they named Griffon. It was a practical graduation project, in which Prof. Dr. Dawilson Lucato and Mário Bellato Jr. based their previous experience in aircraft design and even used a wind tunnel to define the car. Lucato is an aeronautical engineer and has numerous courses and specializations in various institutions, including outside Brazil. He also worked as a rapporteur for the area of vehicle safety in the current Brazilian Traffic Code, as well as many works in this area. I could not find any plausible information about Bellato, so I apologize if I did not credit him with anything.
The project was started in 1974; however, the construction of the two prototypes took almost seven years to complete. The Aircraft Laboratory of the Mechanical Engineering Department at EESC was involved from the beginning of the process, when the basic characteristics of the vehicle were defined and the use of aeronautical concepts in its design, aerodynamic behavior and ergonomics was determined.
Motor 3 magazine published an article written by Expedito Marazzi, who drove the car at Interlagos and reported with his usual clarity on the behavior of two prototypes that were there.
The work was very well done, with a very good aerodynamic coefficient of 0.35, despite the chosen crease style. The car really did look like it had been made with an axe and saw from a single block, a controversial but attractive style. It was not a car that would go around unnoticed.
Weighing only 860 kg (1895.98 lbs) in running order, it was only not really fast due to the engine chosen, the easiest, cheapest and quickest in terms of design, given that Volkswagen components were very easy to work with. The engineers said at the time that the design took into account the possibility of installing the engine in the center-rear, taking advantage of the space behind the seats, since the air-cooled engine occupied the normal place, behind the rear axle, like in the Brasília from which the Griffon was derived.
The driving position was pointed out as very good by Marazzi, which leads to the practical comparison with the Puma GTS, still in production at the time and notoriously difficult to access and accommodate. In the Griffon, this was easy, both because of the generously sized doors and the correct arrangement of the controls, another legacy of the experience with airplanes, where ergonomics were always considered more seriously than in cars.
Another notable point was the width of the front pillars, which was quite small, which contributed to visibility at a point that is always critical in any car. The rear window was vertical, which was very useful due to the low reflections it presented, complemented by the bars that connected the roof to the rear fenders, creating an opening that allowed very good visibility for the type of bodywork, as well as reasonable external rearview mirrors.
The seat belts were attached to the roof at their two upper points, for a total of four, and were of racing specification. The gear lever moved inside the opening in the floor console, with the opening being a little too small for movement, hindering the engagement of first and third gear, a point that would have to be corrected if the vehicle were manufactured for sale.
The Griffon’s chassis was the same as the Brasília’s, with no changes in dimensions, unlike the Puma, which had been shortened from the Beetle. This also explains the larger space available in the design to accommodate two people.
The construction of the body was not detailed in this magazine text, but judging by the lack of information, it did not seem to be any different from other “plastic Beetles”, as the magazine humorously referred to small-scale domestic cars. A solid body fixed to the floor and with doors and lids added using normal hinges.
Since there were no changes in this sense in this prototype, the top speed recorded on the old Interlagos straight, the original layout, which was just under 850 meters (2,788.71 ft), was 140 km/h (87 mph).
A notable aerodynamic detail is right at the front end, in front of the retractable headlights. Slits to divert excess air that would swirl around the rubber sheet that worked as a bumper. These slits are an aeronautical creation, called slots, and their function is to help maintain less turbulent flows on the upper part of the wings.
The car with the suspension lowered in relation to the original measurements of the Brasília had understeer, while the other unit, without lowering the suspension, had much safer behavior, with room for the suspension to work and correct absorption of unevenness and roll in fast curves. With the car lowered, this does not happen, since the suspension reaches the end of its travel and the forces imposed on the curves are passed on to the body, resulting in movements that are almost always unpredictable. Marazzi drove a few times with the car lowered, in curves that normally would have been easy to take.
The noise level was measured at 130 km/h (80.78 mph) with the windows open, and it was 89 dB(A), compared to a Passat TS with 93 dB(A). On a logarithmic decibel scale, this means that the Griffon was almost 50% noisier, a result of its excellent aerodynamics. The same measurement with the windows closed showed 87 dB(A) for the Griffon and 84 for the Passat, showing that little noise is generated by having the windows open, that is, little wind enters in this condition, showing that conscious work in a wind tunnel produces good results. Little wind inwards means little turbulence “glued” to the bodywork, and less resistance to progress.
Exhibited at the XII Auto Show in 1981, the project and tooling were put up for sale the following year, without finding a buyer. As a professional, Mario participated in the design of other vehicles, such as the Cheda buggy and the Ventura (L’Automobile), until he opened his own factory in the 1990s in São José do Rio Preto (SP), where he planned to put the Griffon into production, in a version with a more potent, central engine from a Chevrolet Monza (Brazilian version of the Opel Ascona C). His premature death in 1996, at the age of 42, unfortunately aborted the project.
**SOURCES**
1: https://www.lexicarbrasil.com.br/griffon/
2: https://www.autoentusiastasclassic.com.br/2012/12/trinta-anos-griffon.html?m=0
The Griffon. A Brazilian prototype of a sports car with an air-cooled Volkswagen engine made as a practical graduation project by two students.
