Say Hello to Aerodynamics

[JohnBM01]

None of us were born when the automobile was patented in 1886 (according to the Mercedes-Benz 2004 catalog). In the past, the automobile was new. Cars of the past had basically NO aerodynamics. As Speed Channel show "Car Crazy" had as a question, some automobile makers had a sort of sun visor for aerodynamic performance. Now, let's head into the 20th Century. Ford's Model T in the early 1900s surely wasn't as aerodynamic as today's cars, but it was a functional machine to take around. With the debut of the 24 Hours of Le Mans back around the 1920s, the cars looked less boxy and shown off some very classic and very lovely designs. After the end of World War 2 in 1945, cars appeared to look more modern as some sweet designs came about. Then enter the muscle car days. The cars were all about horsepower. And this was true about the Camaro, the Firebird/Trans-AM, the GTO, the Cobra, and of course, the Mustang to name a few. Car design shown improvement a few years into 1970. And with subtle improvements, 1980s came along and went. The 1990s had wonderful designs, and now into the 21st Century, aerodynamics will get better and better.

So GTPlanet, this thread about aerodynamics. Talk about cars with good and/or bad aerodynamics, stylish designs with wonderful drag coefficients (CD), and things like that.

One of my favorite aerodynamic cars is the Peugeot 406. This machine was very elegant, not to mention hellishly aerodynamic. It was raced before in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) with Steve Soper and company, but it's one of my favorites. But never mind my favorites... this is a thread for YOU! So let's reply, shall we?

 

[pimp racer]

THe CC8 and the CCR I heard has Great aerodynamics.

 

[Duke]

1936 Lincoln Zephyr. First production car specifically designed to be aerodynamic.

 

[daan]

1980s came along and went.

Way to totally miss out the era of the big drag coefficient battle.

The '80s was when the car manufacturers were battling to get their drag coefficient down and they used it alot in their adverts. I can remember cars getting down to 0.30 and then a few of them made it to 0.28. But then they stopped advertising it and I have no idea what most modern cars are at.

Just done a search and 0.28 still seems to be a good average figure.

 

[Famine]

"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines."

(I forget who. Possibly Carroll Shelby?)

Edit: Apparently it was Enzo, although I don't believe a word of it. Anyway, he probably said it in Italian. Yeah.

 

[Driftster]

The Tucker

 

[daan]

"Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines."

(I forget who. Possibly Carroll Shelby?)

I think it was Enzo.

 

[Driftster]

it was enzo..

 

[Bahbo]

...but aren't all Ferraris aerodynamic?

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

Aerodynamics, well, say hello to the VW 1 Litre Car:

 

[Famine]

Apparently, my car has a Cd of 0.31, and daan's has a Cd of 0.32.

In your face, Pininfarina! Hiroshima-boy comes good!

 

[RacyBacy]

Well i'll have to spoil your party Famine since my car out does yours and daans:

"Thanks to lightweight construction throughout and, above all, the car’s low drag coefficient of cD = 0.30, the new Audi 100 was synonymous with progressive design. In the words of the German publication Auto-Zeitung, “in terms of aerodynamics, the new Audi 100 outclasses the rest of the automotive world.”

Taken from the Audi World Site

 

[The359]

1936 Lincoln Zephyr. First production car specifically designed to be aerodynamic.

The 1934 Chrysler Airflow might disagree...

 

[Famine]

Well i'll have to spoil your party Famine since my car out does yours and daans:

"Thanks to lightweight construction throughout and, above all, the car’s low drag coefficient of cD = 0.30, the new Audi 100 was synonymous with progressive design. In the words of the German publication Auto-Zeitung, “in terms of aerodynamics, the new Audi 100 outclasses the rest of the automotive world.”

Taken from the Audi World Site

Meh. Horch/Audi have had 90 years to get it right. Mazda got 0.01 off inside 46 years after having their factory levelled and turned radioactive.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

Aerodynamics, well, say hello to the VW 1 Litre Car:

Not enough?! 💡


Here you go.

Say hello to Thrust 2: The Ultamate Mofo.

 

[RacyBacy]

Meh. Horch/Audi have had 90 years to get it right. Mazda got 0.01 off inside 46 years after having their factory levelled and turned radioactive.

In '82, the Audi 100 set a new aerodynamic world record for saloon cars, with a drag coefficient (cD) of only 0.30. Since then, Audi has justly been regarded as the top dog in the field of motor-vehicle aerodynamics. Mazda need to play catch up. And i'm not accepting the radioactive factory excuse!

 

[Duke]

The 1934 Chrysler Airflow might disagree...

I'm such a dumbass. I just realized the Airflow was actually the car for which I meant to look up a picture. I was just thinking about an old abandoned Zephyr in the woods behind my parents' house, and accidently typed the wrong car name. What a dipstick. You're totally correct, and that was the car I intended to post.

 

[emad]

to my knowledge, the Honda Insight is the most aerodynamically efficient production car ever. It has a drag coefficient of cD = 0.25. The current Honda Accord has a cD= 0.26

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)


Srry, but I dont know much about Aerodynamic measurements of sorts like many of you people in GTplanet. So ill just talk about two cars I like of their Aerodynamic!

I just luv the Supra's body frame! I really like its frame for Aerodynamics because it is all beautiful and SECKSIEEE curves all around it!

oh my Goddess! The McCUTEY!!! (McLaren F1) awww it got very natural and cute curves it makes me wanna PINTCH its cute body!!! It's aerodynamic body looks and works like a smooth flat water...so smooth and flowy and beautiful in the night!

 

[Victor Vance]

Aerodynamic, you want? What can have more aero money invested in it than this?

"Aerodynamics are the first element of winning a plate race. The other three are horsepower, avoiding the big one, and being in the right place at the right time." -Rick Hendrick


That day, those four elements came together pretty damn well

C4's, especially the earlier ones, look pretty damn streamlined in my opinion

 

[JohnBM01]

I don't follow stock car racing, but some of my favorite stock car racers are the Late Model-type stock cars. If "stock" cars were turned into pure racing machines, their bodies would look something like the Late Model cars. One of my brother's college textbooks has that Nissan GTP race car from 1992 (perhaps confirmed for GT4) in a wind tunnel. Of course, that wind tunnel is to test for the aerodynamics of a car. And McLaren'sAngel, it's okay if you don't know about aerodynamics. But you do bring up a pretty sweet machine, your favorite car in the world, the McLaren F1. And for sure it's functional, not to mention aerodynamic front and back. And that VW 1 liter car looks pretty nice.

Two aerodynamic cars I'd like to share are both in Japan only. And if you follow the JGTC, these should be pretty familiar. The Vemac RD320 and the Ferrari-like ASL Garaiya both look pretty exotic, not to mention aerodynamic. The RD320 raced GT300 back last year (and probably still does, I don't know), and the car looks more like a mini-GT1 race car. The JGTC variant of the Garaiya also looks like a mini-GT1.

Lotus fans, listen up! How would you describe the Lotus Elise and Lotus Exige (and are they the same vehicle, different versions of one vehicle, or two totally different machines?) in terms of aerodynamics?

 

[Omnis]

i think they are totally different cars...

i've been in an exige (i have pics too ) and i've seen an elise up close and personall too, and they looked different.

that or it could be different model years.

im not sure how they are aerodynamically though.

 

[daan]

Apparently, my car has a Cd of 0.31, and daan's has a Cd of 0.32.

In your face, Pininfarina! Hiroshima-boy comes good!

But my wider tyres would probably account for the 0.01 discrepancy. I'd rather have better handling, than slippy aerodynamics. I also have the power to overcome the extra drag.



And Victor, a NASCAR is not too stramlined tho' is it? It's got a great big barn door stuck to it's boot.

 

[Famine]

But then again you've also got more weight, so an increased rolling resistance. And your tyres are 10mm wider but 25.4mm higher - and you're a full inch taller.

Better handling? Pah! You'd be lucky if you could keep that barge turning!

RacyBacy - Audi are the world leader in aerodynamics? Is that why they had to recall every single Audi TT to glue a spoiler on?

 

[RacyBacy]

RacyBacy - Audi are the world leader in aerodynamics? Is that why they had to recall every single Audi TT to glue a spoiler on?

I doubt the rear spoiler had that much of an effect. Audi recalled the cars also to replace the front lower control arms, sway bars, and shocks. To my knowledge it was cornering when the car was doing more than 125mph that killed people.

to my knowledge, the Honda Insight is the most aerodynamically efficient production car ever. It has a drag coefficient of cD = 0.25.

The Audi A2 1.2TDI has a cD of 0.25 also.

 

[TsLeng]

Stock cars don't have much aero research done on them.

But F1 is a different matter altogether.

 

[The359]

The Vemac RD180/RD320 are not Japanese only, in fact they're built in Britain.

 

[Duke]

Stock cars don't have much aero research done on them.

But F1 is a different matter altogether.

Actually, that's wrong. Stock cars - both the production vehicles and the "stock" NASCAR silhouettes - have millions of dollars in aerodynamic research done on them. In the case of NASCAR, the rules prohibit airfoil-type wings, which is why they have a spoiler rather than a wing.

 

[Famine]

I doubt the rear spoiler had that much of an effect. Audi recalled the cars also to replace the front lower control arms, sway bars, and shocks. To my knowledge it was cornering when the car was doing more than 125mph that killed people.

Indeed - but in a car designed to do (and restricted to) 155mph and made in Germany, that's really something they ought to have accounted for and simulated.

The Audi A2 1.2TDI has a cD of 0.25 also.

And it's own phenomenal list of problems. The A2 is, apart from the CityRover, the worst car on sale in Britain today. Good fuel economy though.

 

[RacyBacy]

Indeed - but in a car designed to do (and restricted to) 155mph and made in Germany, that's really something they ought to have accounted for and simulated.

Yeah, they made a big mistake that cost people their lives.

And it's own phenomenal list of problems. The A2 is, apart from the CityRover, the worst car on sale in Britain today. Good fuel economy though.

I wasn't aware that the A2 had a phenomenal list of problems. I heard that it was well made and had good reliabilty? I don't like the car anyway design wise but I heard they are destined to be classics though!

I prefer the original A2 rally monster myself!