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Old 08-25-2022, 10:43 AM   #28 (permalink)
aerohead
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Lotus Europa

This will be an interesting project when you get to it.
It's one car that put the 'body' where most place a rear spoiler. Wolf Heinrich Hucho had mentioned in his 2nd-Edition book that, adding a rear spoiler affected drag and lift almost as good as just designing the aft-body to the same 'height.'
If it was Frank Costin who did the design, I applaud him.
At Cd 0.29, the Europa was probably a benchmark for low drag in 1968, when it debuted. It just so happens to intersect the span of the 'slow,' 2.5:1 streamline body of revolution-derived half-body contour I used for the 2007 AST-I.
I got to drive a spyder version at a party in 1969. It remains my favorite sports car. A real slot-car! Elegant. Visceral. No girly-man creature comforts. Just legs-straight-out, buns-on-the-floor, unadulterated performance!
And driven 'conservatively', no doubt, very efficient, naked, off the boat from England.
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