Edge Vehicle Research Team
Overview of The EDGE
The EDGE, Edge Vehicle Research Team's exciting new sports car prototype, has now reached the final stages of its development. Initiated in 1985 with the goal of creating a unique, originally styled exotic sports car, the EDGE today fulfills its goal while still retaining a link to the influential classic European exotics.
Jesse Gander, designer of the EDGE, sought to create a high performance sports car with show stopping looks that was still practical for everyday street driving. The classic challenge. A worthy challenge for Gander and his associates: Alan Chong, Randy Craig, and Lisa Gander. Together, they form Edge Vehicle Research Team.
Beginning with sketches of a body design utilizing a mid-engine layout, the first objective was to secure a working chassis. A suitable frame was located in a partially assembled state. Designed by Bill Porterfield, a GM engineer, for use in his own sports cars, the steel tube frame was modified to fit the parameters of the EDGE design.
Styling of the EDGE, aided by CAD/CAM technology, was finalized in early 1987. Construction of the body began in the summer of that year. Utilizing one half inch thick polyurethane foam sheets, the basic shape of the body was roughed out. Laminating the foam with two layers of 1.5 ounce fiberglass mat created the core of the finished body. Over the next four years, development continued on the body while the various other components of the EDGE were, in many instances, designed, fabricated, and installed.
Many of the special features of the EDGE are found in its ergonomically designed interior. All driver controls have been designed to be within easy reach of a tightly harnessed driver executing high speed maneuvers. Specially designed, hand built padded fiberglass seats with Bell Racing five point safety harnesses hold the driver and passenger. VDO instrumentation and a Vericom performance computer provide performance data, while the Proton sound system is routinely drowned out by the full throttle roar of the engine.
Fully street legal, the EDGE is titled and licensed for street use by the state of Wisconsin. Even with the first generation powerplant and rough chassis calibrations, the EDGE produced remarkable performance and outstanding reliability.
Today, the EDGE represents the culmination of nearly four thousand hours of determined effort. As mentioned earlier, development continues. Advanced powerplants and chassis calibrations are two aspects still under development. What does the future hold for the EDGE? No one at Edge Vehicle Research Team is telling . . . yet.
