@West - A Marco's replica wooden monocoque under construction:
Could be a cost effective chassis to build and inexpensive.
The engine & F/R suspensions are mounted on lightweight, 1 inch
space frames with surprisingly small metal bosses/plates.
There are a few books available on the Marcos, Costin also built
the Protos F2 car which used a plywood monocoque.
Could the VDP car use it? I hope you will post pictures of your project.
Good Luck with it, very interesting and innovative tech and application.
Wooden boat construction could also offer insight. Wood strip techniques
in multiple biased layers epoxied might be worth investigating. Some car
bodies and airplanes were once built using this method and I remember Cylde
boats built in mahogany in Detroit Michigan USA, basically open tubs.