Hydropneumatic Basics
Throughout automotive history, the vast majority of vehicles have relied on classic suspensions featuring coil or leaf springs, and occasionally, torsion bars, paired with hydraulic or gas dampers. But hold onto your seats, because we’re about to dive into a game-changer: hydropneumatic suspensions! These advanced systems achieve unprecedented shock absorption through metallic spheres (see photo on the left) that are partially filled with a non-corrosive gas—specifically, nitrogen (marked as ‘1’ in the diagram below)—alongside a mineral or synthetic hydraulic fluid (marked as ‘2’ in the diagram).
But this isn’t just a… carbonated suspension, as the fluid and gas are separated by a sturdy yet flexible rubber or synthetic diaphragm (marked as ‘3’ in the diagram below). When the piston in the suspension cylinder applies pressure to the fluid, the diaphragm compresses against the gas, delivering an impressive six times more elasticity than traditional setups with steel coils! The hydropneumatic sphere does double duty here: the pressurised gas acts as the spring linking the wheel to the vehicle, while the fluid serves as a damper, expertly managing the suspension’s oscillations by flowing through narrowing rings in the lower section of the sphere (marked as ‘4’ in the diagram).
Some Linguistics and Prehistory
Now, let’s dive into the thrilling world and history of hypcars, all characterised by their remarkable suspension systems. We’ve chosen the term “hypcar” to specifically refer to vehicles equipped with hydropneumatic suspension, which cleverly combines fluid and pressurised gas. The prefix “hydro” comes from the ancient Greek word for water, “hydor,” while “pneumatic” relates to gases. Fun fact: in Greek, “pneuma” also translates to “spirit,” adding an enchanting layer of vibrancy to this suspension type. What’s more, the early inventions of pneumatic and hydraulic engineering can be traced back to Hero of Alexandria in the 2nd century AD! Now, let’s zoom in from those Greek beginnings to the significant French contributions that shaped fluid and gas suspensions.
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Hypcars of the 1950s
Hypcars of the 1960s
Hypcars of the 1970s
Hypcars of the 1980s
Hypcars of the 1990s
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