:: AQUILA RACING CARS :: MADE IN DENMARK ::

The Aquila FD1 is a no compromise Formula Ford chassis, designed for use on tracks with a preponderance of slow and medium speed corners, which characterize many tracks today. However, this does not mean that the car isn’t fast on circuits with long straights and fast corners, it simply means that it is compact enough to get around sharp corners more easily and put its power down well, with adequate rearward weight transfer despite the low centre of gravity. The Aquila FD1 breaks the trend of Formula Ford chassis getting ever longer, taller and fatter. We spent a lot of time studying the Technical Regula-tions, with the assistance of Ford and the UK Formula Ford Chief Scrutineer, and we thoroughly revisited the basic features that constitute a good racing car in order to synthesize the Aquila FD1 concept. No current Formula Ford is more compact and has a lower center of gravity and smaller frontal area than the Aquila FD1, yet it will easily accommodate even very tall and wide hipped drivers. It took a lot of thought to reach these objectives, but we think we succeeded very well in achieving them. See an Aquila FD1 next to competing chassis, and it is visibly and strikingly compact in comparison.

An extensive FD1 image gallery is available here

Driver sits lower in car in order to enable lower overall build and to improve fairing in of main roll hoop. This feature both reduces centre of gravity height and reduces frontal area.

• Engine is located right up against the rear cockpit bulkhead, off loading the relatively narrow rear tyres without recourse to an excessively long wheelbase.

• Front (monoshock) and rear spring/damper units mounted at ﬂoor level, again lowering centre of gravity height relative to the standard setup with pushrod operated spring/dampers over the driver’s legs and over the transaxle. Monoshock front saves volume, weight and cost over two-spring setup, and makes corner weight, front droop limit and ride height setup very simple.

• Intermediate bell crank for the front monoshock enables easy and inexpensive adjustment of front spring/damper characteristics without changing spring or damper

• Rear dampers easily accessible for adjustment without need to remove bodywork, rear damper reservoirs located in relatively cool airﬂow.

• Pedal group, steering coloumn and gear shifter quickly adjustable for different drivers

• Master cylinders in pedal group assembly lo-cated behind front bulkhead to prevent intrusion damage in case of frontal collision

• All front-end components requiring servicing located in foot well – minimal bodywork removal required for access

• Engine semi-stressed member: Frees up frame mass to be used for denser chassis triangulation in driver’s compartment for increased stiffness and driver protection – mass of stiff engine put to structural use, and rear end of car can be narrower and smoother for drag reduc-tion

• Fabricated high tensile sheet steel bellhousing: Saves weight over traditional cast light alloy units, easier to repair: Bends, doesn’t break, weldable “in-the-ﬁeld”

• Alternator located inside bellhousing: Drive downstream of clutch reduces rotating inertia during initial acceleration, location cleans up airﬂow at rear of car

• All suspension and running gear components non-handed for simpliﬁed spares logistics – “Murphy” always ensures you’ve got 4 left hand items in stock…and it’s a right hand one you busted again…

• Front pull rod and upper wishbone share swivel bolt, enabling non-handed wishbones

• Rear pull rod activated from non-handed upright, enabling non-handed wishbones

• All aluminium alloy hubs – simple, reliable, lightweight design

• Outboard CV-joints embedded in rear hub: Enables recessing entire hub/upright assembly deeply into wheel for improved aerodynamics and minimal angular displacement of driveshafts

• Rear brake caliper located at bottom of disk for low center of gravity, non-handed, compact installation.

• Catalyst and silencer located in side pod to clean up tail airﬂow and to move mass forward

• Hoses and cables located such that access to clutch, clutch slave cylinder and release bearing can be accomplished without disconnecting ﬂuid lines

• Smooth, low drag wheels.


Type	Formula Ford
Wheelbase	Wheelbase: 96” (2438mm)
Front Track	64” (1625mm)
Rear Track	61.2” (1554mm) Front and/or rear track may be increased with up to 2” (50,8mm) with bolt-on spacers
Chassis	Fully triangulated TIG-welded 4130-N tubular steel space frame with stressed ﬂoor pan and ﬁrewall bulk-head. Semi stressed engine installation with sump casing and bellhousing joined by CNC machined aluminium alloy ﬁtting, engine located on sides and top by tubular steel “spiders”. Fully stressed fabricated sheet steel (Docol 500 high strength micro-alloyed steel) bellhousing. All suspension pick up points have detachable ﬁttings, except upper forward wishbone, which picks up on integral reinforced anti intrusion “cups”. All front wishbone pickup points located out of the air stream. Aluminium alloy honeycomb panel protective nose box. All steel chassis components are powder coated for durability.
Suspension Front	Double wishbones with pullrod and shuttle operated single spring/damper unit located on ﬂoor. Roll stiffness adjusted by Belleville spring packs. Corner weight adjustment on pullrods. Ride height adjustment on intermediate pushrod. Droop limit adjustment on damper. Camber adjustment by shims witout affecting toe adjustment. Caster adjustment with shims on lower wishbone pickup ﬁttings. Non-handed ﬁxed length elliptical section tubular wishbones with pressed-in spherical joints. Toe adjustment on tie rods. Intrax 4-way adjustable external reservoir dampers developed specifically for the Aquila FD1.
Suspension Rear	Double wishbones with Pullrod and rocker operated spring/damper units located along lower edge of bellhousing. Corner weight adjustment on spring platforms. Ride height adjustment on pullrods. Droop limit adjustment on damper. Camber adjustment by shims without affecting toe adjustment. Turnbuckle adjustable bump-steer (caster) on trailing arm of lower wishbone. Non-handed ﬁxed length elliptical section tubular steel upper wishbones with pressed-in spherical joints. Non-handed lower wishbone comprises adjustable length trailing arm, ﬁxed length diagonal link and adjustable length tie rod, all links being elliptical section tubular steel with pressed-in spherical joints at one end. Toe adjustment on tie rod turnbuckles. rods. Intrax 4-way adjustable external reservoir dampers developed specifically for the Aquila FD1.
Running Gear	CNC machined aluminium alloy hubs (billeted from 682T6 Aircraft quality) with integral brake disk bells, CNC machined aluminium alloy uprights and camber ﬁttings. Double row angular contact front wheel ball bearings, twin thin section, large diameter deep groove rear wheel ball bearings with CV joint imbedded in aluminium alloy hub. All bearings are maintenance free. Gun-drilled, heat treated 4340 steel driveshafts, low section CV-joints. All running gear components are non-handed.
Bodywork	Glass reinforced polyester in 14 sections, lateral impact protection panels with Nomex honeycomb core and Kevlar side intrusion protection in cockpit area. Fully faired in engine bay. Removable cover for access to front spring/damper and master cylinders; removable covers for access to anti roll Belleville spring packs. All rear suspension items requiring adjustment accessible without removal of bodywork. Quick release ﬂush mounted fuel ﬁller. Bodywork is supplied with gelcoat, ready for painting. Upon arrangement, at additional cost, bodywork can be painted in the customer’s paint scheme.
Safety	Densely triangulated chassis manufactured form high strength steel, heavy gage ﬂoor pan and ﬁrewall, mandatory roll hoops, frontal and lateral impact protection structures, built-in ﬁre extinguishing system, 6-point safety harness, FIA FT3 ﬂexible, foam-ﬁlled fuel cell.
Price	€39.990,-