Calavera Ltd -- 1989 Calavera Hydra

Sillyworld · 24 July 2018 04:09

1980 Horus D634

https://i.imgur.com/JxM8HMa.jpg
FIberglass beauty

After a long development process, and after some minor problems, the spiritual successor of the D550 was revealed in 1980, simply called Horus, and the first available trim was simple called D634.

Background

After finally getting the loans and right finance for the next project, the Calavera team got to work on the final details of the project. Most of it was already designed, a steel tubular chassis, similar to the previous D550 but stiffer with advance welding, with a sleek fiberglass body, designed and created in house. The only remaing part was the engine.

After some negotation and testing, a Bogliq unit was chosen. It was the Gamma M 6 engine, a reliable 3.4L V6 unit used since the mid 60s. After some minor tweeking and tuning, the rest of the team got to work and the actual production of the car. As usual, its tuning was done by former Meliora’s race/testing pilot Pedro Cazares.

https://i.imgur.com/RLKSVES.png

At the end, the Horus made 216hp, but due to the lightness of the body (1,140kg) it could push the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.03s (putting it in the top 5 of the fastest cars in 1980) and reached 217km/h.

It came with a 5 speed manual transmission 15" alloy wheels, brake discs all around and a hand made interior (not of the best quality tho) and a 4 speaker tape player.

https://i.imgur.com/ts2FBzz.png
For extra money, Magnesium rims were an option

Price and stats

1980 Horus D634 - MSRP $19,561.45 US dlls. (back in 1980)

1/4 mile: 15.19s
Corners: 1.07g - 1.03g
Automation Test Track: 2:25.50

https://i.imgur.com/rNUhZaL.png
https://i.imgur.com/1jD48Oj.png?1

Thanks to @HighOctaneLove for the engine!

Sillyworld · 10 August 2018 17:08

https://i.imgur.com/gml5PPZ.jpg

1981 Amun C215

After the 1974 Yellow Fox ended production, Calavera introduced a new replacement, the 1981 Amun, sharing the same 215hp Bogliq tuned engine used in the Horus. Rear wheel drive, manual transmission, light and with no power steering. And quick, very quick.

History and Development

The Yellow fox sold around 800 units in its 6 years of production, and Calavera wanted to pump up those numbers with its replacement. The Amun took the same approach as his previous cars, a steel tubular chassis with a fiberglass body. Extra effords were made to keep the weight of the car low. The result was a mid engine car with 907kg of weight.

https://i.imgur.com/FnoXJgl.jpg

The Amun used the same engine as the Horus, and altough 216hp doesn’t sound like much, it is enough to move the car from 0 to 100km/h in less than 5 seconds, making it one of the fastest production cars in the early 80s. The car was made for specific use in the track, so it had an spartan interior and a very harsh ride and braking, so much that several owners took the car back to the dealership thinking something was wrong with the suspension and brakes.

https://i.imgur.com/HlcagbG.png
The rear carries the design from the '74 Yellow Fox C100

0-100km/h 4.8s
Top speed 239 km/h
1/4 mile 13.39s

ATT: 2:17.45
Airfield: 1:22.68

Price and Stats
Price in 1981 US dlls

Amun C215 - $12,670.00

https://i.imgur.com/5xT8zCG.png
https://i.imgur.com/HOb58Iw.png?1
https://i.imgur.com/Db3z9dY.png?1
(ignore the activate windows watermark to the bottom right corner)

The car files for this and the Horus are in the OP if you want to download them. Please do and tell what you think

Sillyworld · 2 November 2018 05:03

November 1st 1983

Test driver and co-founder Pedro Cazares died at the age of 35 during testing of a turbocharged version of the Amun.

Pedro worked previously at Meliora automotive from 1966 to 1970, being one of the drivers behind the 1969 Andron. He will be deeply missed.

Designs · 2 November 2018 13:31

Nice work ! (isn’t a calavera that traditional mexican cake?)

Sillyworld · 3 November 2018 01:38

Yeah. A calavera is basically any representation of a human skull, including these:

Bonus: the last post occured in November 1st, a day before Mexico’s Dia de los muertos, which relates to the name of the company.

Designs · 3 November 2018 08:34

talk about being meta

Sillyworld · 19 November 2018 05:31

1983 - 1984 New Owner, New Beginnings

After the unfortunate accident on which co-fonder and test driver Pedro Cazares died, a week later Greg Gracey, a major figure in the company (owner of the company that made the fiberglass bodies panels and bodies) decided to pull out of the company.

Affonso Calavera was leaved alone to run the company, without any finantial support other than the car sales. In early 1984 Affonso looked for other business partners and investors willing to lend some money in the company to be able to design new cars in keep producing existing models.

One man had shown interest, Christopher Ferrell. Of a industrial chemistry background, Chris had made a name succesfully selling chemistry composites to different big construction companies, earning quite the money. By late 1984, Christopher adquired Calavera Limited, with all its assets and patents. Affonso Calavera, being the soley founder, was still working in the company, as main lead designer and engineer, while Chris taking care of the business side of things. Although, Chris also participated in racing on weekends, and had even modified some models himself (like a ADM foxhound) he even was one of the original buyers of a Calavera Yellow Fox. His inputs and his influence in the company helped Calavera transition to a new age.

Sillyworld · 19 June 2019 04:59

1988 new Basilisk!

After quite some time without much going on, under new management, Calavera released its new model in 1988, replacing both the Amun and the Horus. The new sports car was called Basilisk, and it had all of Calavera’s performance.

https://i.imgur.com/2Zs4Se3.jpg
Basilisk in sport yellow

One of the main reasons for the delay in new models, was because much of the time was invested into the design of the first Calavera’s powerplant. It was a race oriented 3.5L V8, made of aluminum with individual throttle bodies and Meliora’s Fuel injection system, pushing 254hp and 229lb-ft of torque, running on 86 AKI fuel. The rest of the design of the car was pretty standard for Calavera, spaceframe chassis with a fiberglass body, rear wheel drive.

Although it was designed to be a sport car that could be taken to the track, it was very difficult to drive at full speed (even with a LSD) which earn it the reputation of widowmaker. The new Basilisk also retained some of Calavera’s quirks, such as the rattling, the noisy engine and the unwanted vibrations (especially during heavy braking). Despise that, the Basilisk revamped the interest for the company, and new clubs around the company and the model started to form.

https://i.imgur.com/GNoJkHQ.png

TECHNICAL	MKI
Engine:	Calavera V8
Placement:	Front mid Longitudinal
Type:	Flatplane V8
Block/head:	Aluminum/Aluminium
Valvetrain:	Single Overhead Cam
Fuel System:	Multi Point EFI
Bore/Stroke:	83.4mm x 80mm
Displacement:	3,495cc
Max Power:	254hp @ 6,200rpm
Max Torque:	229lb-ft @ 5,100rpm
CHASSIS
Transmission:	5 Speed Manual
Drivetrain:	RWD
Chassis type:	Spaceframe
Chassis/panels:	Steel / Fiberglass
Front suspension:	Double Wishbone
Rear suspension:	Double Wishbone
Brakes Front:	Single piston 320mm Vented discs
Brakes Rear:	Single piston 275mm Vented discs
Tire size:	225/55R16 (F) - 245/50R16 (R)
Weight:	1060 kg
PERFORMANCE
Top Speed:	250km/h
0-100km/h:	5.34s
400m:	13.51s
Fuel economy:	12.1mpg

https://i.imgur.com/MiugXUe.png
Traditional engineering

EQUIPMENT	MKI
Seats:	2 front seats
Leather seats:	Hand made
Adjustment:	Manual
AM/FM radio:	Std.
Media:	Cassette
Speakers:	4
Power steering:	Hydraulic
ABS	N/A
Safety rating:	31.8

https://i.imgur.com/hCzoarh.png
Calavera

Watermelon3878 · 20 June 2019 20:44

Both the specs and looks are quite impressive and realistic, but I feel like a race-inspired engine would take the liberty of running on premium fuel

Sillyworld · 25 June 2019 04:13

It is a fair comment, however it uses regular fuel so I can squish more power easily on future models just by using premium fuel

Sillyworld · 29 July 2019 04:33

1989 Calavera Hydra

Introduced in 1989, the Hydra was the “big brother” of the Basilisk, while the last one was designed to be used as light track car that could be pushed to the limits, the Hydra was a more civilized machine, to be used in long or short trips, along the highways and long mountain roads.

https://i.imgur.com/Qx0NXGB.png

Available in only 1 trim, the Hydra came with the same engine as the Basilisk, an all aluminum V8 flatplane engine pushing 254hp to the rear wheels, mated to a 5 speed (long gearing) manual transmission. Being a convertible, the Hydra wasn’t as nimble or light as its brother, however, thanks to the added weight and more focused comfort, the car didn’t rattle nor it was as noisy as previous Calavera models, which made it perfect for enthusiast getting into the company.

https://i.imgur.com/KFODYuY.png

TECHNICAL	Convertible
Engine:	Calavera V8
Placement:	Front Longitudinal
Type:	Flatplane V8
Block/head:	Aluminium/Aluminium
Valvetrain:	Single Overhead Cam
Fuel System:	Multipoint EFI
Bore/Stroke:	83.4mm x 80mm
Displacement:	3,495cc
Max Power:	254hp @ 6,200rpm
Max Torque:	229lb-ft @ 5,100rpm
CHASSIS
Transmission:	5 Speed Manual
Drivetrain:	RWD
Chassis type:	Spaceframe
Chassis/panels:	Steel / Fiberglass
Front suspension:	Double Wishbone
Rear suspension:	Double Wishbone
Brakes Front:	2 piston 260mm Vented discs
Brakes Rear:	2 Piston 260mm solid discs
Tire size:	225/50R16
Weight:	1,456 kg
PERFORMANCE
Top Speed:	252 km/h
0-100km/h:	6.66s
400m:	14.82s
Fuel economy:	10.5mpg

https://i.imgur.com/WUhmwfS.png
1989 whole Calavera lineup, the Hydra and the Basilisk

EQUIPMENT	Convertible
Alloy rims	Std.
Dunlap™ sport tires	Std.
Sitting:	2
Leather Seats:	Std. hand stitching
Electric Windows:	--
Electric Seats:	Only driver
AC	Std.
AM/FM radio:	Std.
Cassette player:	Std.
Speakers:	4
Power steering:	Hydraulic
ABS	--
Safety rating:	32