GM AERO 2000 Cd 0.23

[aerohead]

Toecutter asked about this one and I thought it deserved it's own thread so it wouldn't get lost in another.
My data is from Popular Science ( that evil mag! ) November,1982,page 143.
This car used to be at Epcot Center,Orlando,Florida,USA.
The car is a non-running prototype.
It features: * 4-point active air-suspension ( lowers as with Ford Probe IV/V)
----------- * full bellypan
------------ * extendable spoilers ( both ends )
------------ * power-assisted sliding doors
------------ * drive-by-wire
------------ * movable front 1/2-skirts
------------ * rear 1/2-skirts
------------ * Cd 0.23
------------ * 1,800-lb design curb weight
------------ * FWD
------------ * 68 bhp
------------ * 3-cyl IL
------------ * double 1982 HWY mpg of 'best' gasoline car

[Arragonis]

[Laurentiu]

One of the great GM concept car throughout the years...Too bad not too many made it into production . Also, if we look at the La Crosse which evolved from one of these GM prototypes, it has 0.4 Cd....reaaaly pathetic

GM Concept Cars over the years

[Arragonis]

GM knew aero - look at the early 90s Vectra, 90s Omega, and especially the Calibre for a start.

They even advertised the Calibre as the most aerodynamic car in the world when it was new.



Now unfortunately its in banger-land so it lives with tunnel sized 'zorsts and useless plastic bodykits, just before it goes to the scrapper.



And the tragedy is that they never put the reasonable (for the time) Diesel engines into it. I suspect a Diesel Calibre would have been a 100 mph/40mpg mobile.

Its not just GM though. Do you see VW rushing to make something of the 1L car ?

[lunarhighway]

gm still knows aero




the insignia ecoflex has a 0.26 Cd (0.27 for the normal version)
at the time of the calibra diesels could not compete with sporty petrol engines they where economical but slow and noisy. the vectra upon wich the calibra is based did come with a 1.7L diesel so technically it would be possible to make a diesel calibra. it must be noted however that most calibras had a 0.29 Cd rather than 0.26 (only 8 valve models)
due to more cooling. so a diesel calibra will likely have the same Cd as the vectra donor car.

it is of course sad that a car like the chevrolet cruze for example wich is comperable in layout and size to the first vectra only manages a 0.31Cd 22 years later.

[Laurentiu]

Well, that's because the Cruze comes from a different "family line" , being a successor of the Cobalt. GM owns Opel but it doesn't mean they didn't keep some of their positive legacies.Most current models have a Cd or 0.3 or less, even the Zafira MPV with it's roof-racks has a decent 0.31 figure.



Large list of drag coefficients

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by lunarhighway

gm still knows aero




the insignia ecoflex has a 0.26 Cd (0.27 for the normal version)
at the time of the calibra diesels could not compete with sporty petrol engines they where economical but slow and noisy. the vectra upon wich the calibra is based did come with a 1.7L diesel so technically it would be possible to make a diesel calibra. it must be noted however that most calibras had a 0.29 Cd rather than 0.26 (only 8 valve models)
due to more cooling. so a diesel calibra will likely have the same Cd as the vectra donor car.

it is of course sad that a car like the chevrolet cruze for example wich is comperable in layout and size to the first vectra only manages a 0.31Cd 22 years later.

Thanks for this info.

Not sure about the Diesel Vectra/Cavalier (Isuzu engine I believe) not being sporty - the sales guys where I used to work would happily race anything

How did the Calibre compare for weight against the Cavalier/Vectra and the current Insignia ?

As for the Cruze it is really a Daewoo if we're honest ?

[Laurentiu]

Umm...Calibre??....you mean Calibra ? Calibre was just a version of the Cavalier was it not ?

Weights :
Calibra 2.0 - 1220 kg
Vectra C 2.2 - 1460 kg
Insignia 2.0T- 1613 kg

As for being a succesor of Lacetti, yes..Cruze's predecessors are the Lacetti/Cobalt

[Arragonis]

Spell check is a pain, but yes I mean the Calibra which was the 2 door Vectra / Cavalier.

Cavalier was Vectra A not C. Curb weight on W...pedia is 'up to' 1,199 kg. Which suggests Calibra was heavier. Maybe all that glass ?

Modern cars. So lardy.

[Arragonis]

PS For completeness

Opel Calibra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia