Karmann Ghia streamlining with Photoshop

[Cd]

These aren't the images that I was looking for, but here is some inspiration that I had :

[Cd]

Update : Here are some quick pictures of the model that I am making of the car







I haven't worked on it in a while, since the clay is already cracking, despite having a rigid structure to adhere to.
I'll try water putty next ( supposedly, it does not shrink ).
The roof is just an old plastic container lid cut to shape. Everything is just there to to visualize what this thing could look like.

I also built a 3D model for CFD testing of the design, but I found that CFD programs require a special type of 3D file.

Oh well.

[Christ]

So that's why they have 1.8 liter kits for the VW bug and Ghia motors? LOL

[electricghia]

Cd,

When you get the design sorted out. Let me know.

As it happens, I'm converting a '72 Karmann Ghia coup to electric, and my brother-in-law makes high-end custom fiberglass auto-parts for a living (wings, skirts, noses, etc). The car should be on the road this spring -- I'll consider aero upgrades thereafter.

-Nick
Nicolas Drouin's 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

[Bicycle Bob]

Y' all know that the bug was 400 lbs lighter than the Ghia? Maybe a full round of fiberglass parts would be in order. Or maybe it was all lead up front to help the handling? Sorry I can't find a reference except in the wetware.

Ahh - perhaps I was misinformed, or early examples were done with more lead body filler.
"
With a curb weight of around 1,750 pounds, the Karmann-Ghia coupe was about 150 pounds heavier than a Beetle sedan. Part of the additional weight came from the added width of the Karmann's body, which gave it nearly six more inches of front hip room than the Beetle. "

[skyl4rk]

Wouldn't it be better to raise the tail up away from the ground?

I don't know this for sure but it seems like it would leave a cleaner wake.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by electricghia

Cd,

When you get the design sorted out. Let me know.

As it happens, I'm converting a '72 Karmann Ghia coup to electric, and my brother-in-law makes high-end custom fiberglass auto-parts for a living (wings, skirts, noses, etc). The car should be on the road this spring -- I'll consider aero upgrades thereafter.

-Nick
Nicolas Drouin's 1972 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Hey, thanks for posting !!
I've had my eye on your project for a while now.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

Wouldn't it be better to raise the tail up away from the ground?

I don't know this for sure but it seems like it would leave a cleaner wake.

It might - unless you have an ( flexible ) airdam that hugs the ground.
Have you ever seen the underside of a NASCAR racer ? Just below the bumper is a huge cavity.
I thought that my car had a "parachute", but it is not even close to how bad that the underside of a NACAR racer is.
( We had one come to work one day. I asked the crew chief what the drag coefficient on the car was. He gave me a blank stare.)

Apparently, if you can hug the ground low enough with an air dam, no airflow reaches the back.
( These guys spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the wind tunnel, so apparently the underside of the car isn't a problem.

[Cd]

One major problem that I see with this aero modded design is that the back end is essentially a RAMP !
I can just imagine how that this car would fare with an SUV crashing into its backside.
The SUVs bumper would end up taking your head off.

This is one more reason why I see genius in the design of the new Aptera. The tail end of the car is high enough to meet the bumper of any upcoming traffic.

[Bicycle Bob]

Except for Bonneville, you have to ignore race cars - they are designed for down force, not efficiency.
The old Railton Special is still the clearest illustration of the best practice. It is your basic elongated teardrop shape, smoothly modified by widening and squishing the proportions vertically, more on the top than the bottom, to allow for the ground interfering with airflow. The tip of the tail is at the same height as the stagnation point at the front.