Li-on Wave II X-Prize entry

[aerohead]

This car may be already covered in another thread.If so,I apologise for the redundancy.
Wave II was reported at Cd 0.157.No slacker,aerodynamically.



If she had 'conventional' mirrors she might come in at around Cd 0.166. Still pretty sweet.

[gafhj]

Why did they cut the rear wheel fairings well ahead of the back of the car? Looks like a lost opportunity to boat tail them.

[NeilBlanchard]

Phil, I saw this car at the X-Prize Knockout Round, and took a number of pictures:




Here's my original of the first picture in your post:

[RustyLugNut]

The Wave and the Aptera were two of the competitors in the Auto Xprize that seemed to elicit positive responses from the audience. They each could have made a niche market for themselves.

[freebeard]

When I was in high school I drew a sports car that was like that except it had open rear wheels and an exposed transaxle for RWD. The windshield angle was mimiced in the seat back angle. I wonder if that picture is still around.

Now, whenever I see something like this, I wonder what it would be like after a 50-50 morph with the Volkhart-Sagitta. Or the top half of the V-S on the bottom of the Wave II.

gafhj -- How about this: A fastback body generates inward and downward rotating vortexes. Might not an inverted fastback produce inward and upward rotating vortexes?



This car has two such. I think the wheelwell turbulence is thereby managed and exhausted upward into the rest of the wake, instead of spreading down onto the ground. Even if you were to completely boat tail the wheel and tire, you still have the wheelwell opening itself to contend with.

Longtail examples:

[NeilBlanchard]

My question about the Wave II is whether the underside is too steep? The top seems to be flatter than it needs to be.

[freebeard]

It's basically a diverter with parallel sidewalls and a curved top. If the sides diverged wouldn't the top need to be flatter to compensate? An area rule thing?

[NeilBlanchard]

I think the underside will generate some downforce, which will pull air from somewhere - in under the sides, and/or causing turbulence in the wake? Getting "replacement air" is most difficult and problematic under a moving vehicle, because the ground constricts the air flow.

[freebeard]

Perhaps the 'replacement air' gets pulled forward from the wake? Relatively speaking, of course.

Based on my experience with an R/C race car, it will suck dust up out of the pavement.

[NeilBlanchard]

Right - downforce equals drag.