The *Ultimate* Aerodynamic Car? Dave Cloud's "Dolphin"

[XJguy]

Very impressive but this is more like it to me as far as ultimate....

Oldsmobile Aerotech, in low drag and in high down-force configurations.....what gorgeous cars...every trick in the book used to make these things slicker than snot.

[KamperBob]

Originally Posted by XJguy

Do I smell another thread?

Cheers
KB

[NeilBlanchard]

I don't remember the Cd on the Oldsmobile, but the biggest aero issue is the rear track is the same width as the front...

[XJguy]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I don't remember the Cd on the Oldsmobile, but the biggest aero issue is the rear track is the same width as the front...

Track is same but rear is pinched.

[robertwb70]

No wheelskirts <<thumbs down>>

[XJguy]

GM Aero 2000 1982



The GM Aero 2000, one of the most aerodynamic automobiles ever developed, was unveiled in 1982 at the Epcot Center World of Design display. The experimental four-seater featured sliding doors, front wheel skirts top-hinged for access to wheels and tires, and a speed-regulated rear foil to reduce fuel-costly air turbulence. Many of the design concepts are evident in GM's electric car, EV1.

[NeilBlanchard]

How did the front skirts work for sharp turns?

I know how I would try to get this to work:

CarBEN Concept EV: An Open Source Project - Vox

The other key solution to getting the CarBEN to work within a very low drag chassis, is the idea of articulated front wheel skirts (see the top, side and bottom views in the drawing). [Edit: I think these would be easier to make, using a vertical hinge down the center (or steering pivot) line, with a front section and rear section. Only the section that is needed to protrude out to allow room for the wheel would be moved. This system would be much simpler than the first idea I came up with, which follows.]: These consist of a ¾ moon panel on the bottom (shown with a dotted line) and another ¾ moon panel on the outside of the front wheel (also shown with a dotted line). There is a slot in the bottom panel where the wheel protrudes out, and there is an inner fender and curved panels that keep the wheel covered even when the steering is all the way to one lock or the other. The suspension motion of the wheel does not move the skirt assembly – the tire moves up and down through the slot and within the inner fender. The whole assembly pivots on grooved rollers around the edge of the bottom panel (see the small circles on the bottom view drawing) and a pivot at the top of the inner fender.


The steering pushrods are connected to the skirt assembly, and swing it with the wheel when the steering angle is sharper than needed for highway driving. So, at high speeds the aerodynamic shape remains unchanged, but at low(er) speeds when sharper steering angles are needed, the panels move to maintain clearance around the wheels. This is the biggest compromise made in the Schlörwagen design – they made the front wide enough to enclose the wheels even when they are at either steering lock. The Schlörwagen is 2.1 meters wide (6'-11”) which has a large affect on the area and hence the drag (CdA) and the car is wide; making it more difficult to drive.

[NachtRitter]

A dissapointing lack of information on the GM Aero 2000 through the interwebs... I know it was done back in the early 80's, but there's not even a Wikipedia entry

[RobertSmalls]

I guess it's time to make one, eh?

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

I guess it's time to make one, eh?

If I actually knew more about it than the 3 sentences posted previously along with some references, I'd be happy to create an entry... have any references?