Surely the Half11 was one of the most special cars that the public could admire during last year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. This machine is a creation of Oil Stain Lab, a creative umbrella under which twin brothers Iliya and Nikita Bridan operate. Both passionate about cars and design since they were kids, these two things eventually merged into their current work. In recent years they've had the opportunity to work on concept cars, help Acura’s IMSA team and even designing the Hoonipigasus, the machine with which Ken Block dreamed to challenge Pikes Peak.
The Half11 isn't a commercial product as it is but a real-life prototype/test mule of their pure design project, which aims to pay tribute to their favorite era of racing. After about a year of concepts, Iliya did a sketch of a 911 front attached to a formula car and they immediately understood that this was what they were looking for. Despite their lack of mechanical expertise at the project’s start, they immeditely understood this was something that required a higher level of knowledge and experience but 'the twins' quickly adapted, learning and outsourcing certain aspects of the build where it made sense.
Joe Scarbo from Scarbo Performance took the brothers’ original drawings and turned them into functional designs using SolidWorks software. Tube frame chassis design and building proven quite the challenge as keeping the car to the overall height (that of a Ford GT40) the design called wasn't easy at all.
Being a prototype car, they opted for a simple but effective LS3 as a powerplant. Whilst not intended to be the final engine it allowed them to fully stress test the chassis design and other components. More specifically, it's a Chevrolet LS3 custom-built by JMS Racing Engines. It has been de-stroked, complete with ITBs plus a dry sump system was added. With a big bore and short stroke, it revs up to 8,500rpm and delivers 650 hp and 745 Nm of torque. The V8 is linked to a 6-speed manual gearbox taken from a 996 GT2.
The exhaust is a very intricate but cool crossover system made out of Inconel and 3D-printed. It has been designed in a way where the exhaust pulses exit the pipe like a flat-plane in a spiral firing order. The 4-into-2-into-1 layout and all equal length headers gives the cross-plane engine a total different note, appearing to be even more high revving. Similar design was used on the Ford V8 of the GT40 back then and in fact some similarities are very evident in its sound.
The look of the car is completed by a rough aluminium coupé body, featuring an old-school paint scheme, and cool Porsche 917 K wheels wrapped in Avon semi-slicks. The Half11 weighs just 839kg (1,850lbs).
Now the the Half11 has been completed, the development carried forward and shown at a major event such as the Festival of Speed, many potential buyers have expressed their interest in a similar car which Iliya and Nikita unveiled last October. That's the HF-11 and it's been in development since 2022, reflecting Oil Stain Lab's vision for a modern performance concept that respects the past. It will be built in only 25 examples and it'll be powered by an innovative “Thunder-Volt” powertrain system that allows drivers to quick-swap between an all-electric setup and a mid-mounted 12,000 rpm flat-6.
Listen to the Half11 being driven up the Goodwood's hillclimb course! Is this the best sound for an LS engine?
#OilStainLab #Half11 #OilStainLabHalf11
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I have to thank my friend and youtuber @NM2255 for the great collaboration done during the event!
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Camcorder: Canon Legria GX10 + Zoom H5, Sony FDR AX700 + Audio-Technica Microphone
Event: Festival of Speed 2024
Where: Goodwood, England
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