The Gurgel BR-800 and Supermini. The history and features. Long post, be warned.

THE BEGINNING: The Gurgel BR-800 and its evolution the Gurgel Supermini were two city-cars produced by Gurgel Motores S/A, with the first being produced from 1988 to 1991 and the second being produced from 1992 to 1995.

THE BR-800

THE BODY: The design of the Gurgel BR-800 was unique, with a body made from a mixture of fiberglass and steel, a combination patented by Gurgel called “Plasteel”, which made it even lighter, weighing around 650 kg or 1433 pounds. This helped it save fuel and made it an agile car on Brazilian roads as it was 3,19 meters or 10 feet 5,5 inches long, 1,47 meters or 4 feet 9,7 inches wide, 4 feet 10 inches tall and had 1,90 meter or 6 feet 2,8 inches of length between the axis.
Although the straight lines of the body, along with the sloping hood, may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing, gave the project an air of modernity, as well as making the car have a better internal space.
The BR-800 was well-regarded among young people who were looking for a car different from what was offered by major manufacturers at the time.
The interior did not hide the model’s very simplistic proposal, featuring a panel with only the necessary dials. The comfortable seats provided a good driving position and the gear lever, with easy engagement, was close at hand. It was all designed to be practical and cheap. The design philosophy in this car is not much different from Soviet cars, it was supposed to take you and three other people plus some luggage from point A to point B, be reliable, easy to maintain, drive and have very low fuel consumption.

THE ENGINE AND OTHER THINGS: The engine developed by Gurgel was a unique project in the world: cast in an aluminum-silicon alloy, it was named Enertron, with an ignition controlled by a microprocessor that eliminated the need for a distributor, as firing was simultaneous in both cylinders. With 800 cylinders, it produced 34 hp of power and could be driven at practically 6,000 rpm without valve fluctuation. Performance was certainly not its strong point as the BR-800 has a 0 – 100 km/h or 0 – 62 mph time of 34 seconds and a top speed of only 115 km/h or 71.5 mph, but economy was its biggest strategy: the BR-800 achieved an average of 21 km/l or 49 mpg of gasoline on the highway, an impressive number even today. To this end, Brazilian engineers worked to extract the best from the engine, using a four-speed gearbox, a 41-liter or 10.8-gallon fuel tank and keeping the weight as low as possible.
The front suspension uses shock absorbers made by Gurgel itself. The so-called “spring shock” has a spring encapsulated inside an armored cylinder filled with viscous fluid. In other words, instead of a separate hydraulic shock absorber, the two components were combined into a single unit, while the rear used spring beams.
Something of noticed on this car was it’s almost perfect weight distribution, the car was almost 50/50 on the rear and front, so much so that the entire side of the car could be lifted with a standard jack by it being placed in its midsection, allowing one to change both tires without needing to repositon the jack.

THE SUPERMINI

THE BODY: The material was the same “Plasteel” used in the construction BR-800’s body, although in relation to its predecessor, its design gained some “curves” that improved its appearance a bit, now with a better quality finish such as a better designed dashboard, taller and better seats, a fully carpeted interior and a 10 cm larger wheelbase, providing better space for the four passengers.
The SL version (the most common) had equipments such as rev counter, analog clock, cassette player with antenna on the roof, brake light, turn signal repeaters on the roof, split rear seat and others, while its competitors in the range, didn’t even offer a right-side mirror or headrests.

THE ENGINE AND OTHER THINGS: Regarding the mechanical part, the engine remains practically the same (Gurgel Enertron), but mechanical developments have caused consumption to decrease and power to increase to 36 hp, maintaining rear-wheel drive but using a new gearbox. This allowed for a better top speed of 120 km/h or 75 mph, which is still low but hey it’s better.
The suspension is also the same as the BR-800 with a few tweaks to make it more comfortable.
Spatial structure in steel with mixed tubular profile (square and cylindrical). The transverse tubes that form the lower side of the body are actually torque tubes that, in the event of a side collision, deform, cushioning the impact. The bodywork is also made up of modular panels in engineering plastic, a type of material that was already known in the automotive world as a raw material in the manufacture of some parts, but which was recognized as a very versatile material due to Gurgel, which largely used the material in their vehicles. The percentage of fiberglass use in the Supermini was around 65%, as an example, in addition to the bodywork, the interior panel, the door trim linings and even some engine parts are made of fiberglass. The front part of the chassis is equipped with a safety system that uses steel torque bars, which deform in the event of a possible collision, cushioning the impact.

by OriginalPapaya8