[Shepherd777]

Originally Posted by aerohead

*I don't know the answer.
*Here are some thoughts:
# It's a supercar,so if the vent has anything to do with engine cooling,it is under the heat flux of full power (maximum airflow at all times)
# If sealed,the vent is like the open bed of a pickup truck,tacked on on both sides.
# The air cannot flow over that without vorticity and turbulence
# Since there is 'body' behind it,we CAN get reattachment,creating a locked-vortex inside the well.
# If optimized,these extractors COULD hold the cooling system drag to the 2% maximum as Hucho discusses.(And Korff)
# Since its cooling flow,it's not necessarily robbing critical air from the rest of the forebody.
# Since the half-ducts are diverging,it might be evidence that Ferrari optimized them to blend the exhausting flow into the surrounding side flow at the same velocity,which would mitigate turbulence where the two streams combine.Dr.Alberto Morelli did this in Pinifarina's wind tunnel with the 1976-78 CNR 'banana' car.Ferrari will spend 100-hours on a winglet,they'd probably be willing to spend equal time on a vent.
# And bringing the air out the sides probably reduces firewall and floorboard heating,leading to a more comfortable cabin.
# And in the event of a cooling system breach,you don't have coolant hitting the windshield,which could momentarily blind the driver.
# For fuel economy,the vents would be active,morphing (Gill slits) with heat load,always presenting the minimum disturbance as a function of road load.

Thanks Aerohead. I'm researching much of your references. I sent you a PM.