RobertSmalls wrote...
> Agreed, but let's give credit where it's due.
Oh I do! I think it's a remarkable car, but it was impractically wide and for no reason than to get the Cd down. I agree with Neil that...
>A lot of the width comes from the need to cover the front wheels
...but I think that was more of a side effect, since there's more than a foot of extra body width past the front wheels that's not doing anything but streamlining...and increasing frontal area, which makes the car look good on paper because...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Lee
Cd is non dimensional right?
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...and equivalent drag area divided by frontal area = Cd. So to reduce Cd you can either reduce drag, or increase frontal area, and Göttinger appears to have done both in pursuit of a low Cd number. As far as actual drag goes, it's no better than a Honda CRX.
Now a CRX only seats two, which makes the Ei far superior if it were being used as a school bus, but as a road car...excuse me a second:
Okay, I'm back. I just now watched the first 50 cars go by on Hwy 99 and not one of them had more than two people in it. Two seats are sufficient for the great majority of drives. Now where was I.
...as a road car it's an impressive styling exercise. I'd be more likely to take inspiration from it if it had used space better, even at the cost of Cd.
Now if the Ei had a front engine and a pickup bed (covered in back with the existing body shape but flip-up like the AeroLid) and cargo boxes in the side pods and alongside the driver, I'd be totally wowed. A delivery truck with huge cargo volume and a Cd of .186, now that would be something!