Volvo Body Rear Aero

[jmedia]

Just curious as this is a common design on Volvo back ends and it gets more extreme every year. I like the style, the tapering up the body, just wanted to know if it was advantageous aerodynamically. I eventually want to do aerodynamic mods to my escort similar to this and use nice custom fiberglass parts

[MetroMPG]

Yup, Volvo knows how to do this stuff!

They're tapering the greenhouse above the wheels so they can reduce the rear wake area but still keep a wide rear track.

Honda took the same approach with the 1st gen Insight (max greenhouse taper above the rear wheels) but they also reduced the rear track, like the GM EV1 electric car.

That bottom C30 you posted, though? That's not the good one. Wrong spoiler.

Better aero on the C30 "Drive" efficiency model:

[2000neon]

Yes that would be an advantage over a more traditional square rear end. That plan taper (narrowing of width of vehicle) helps to reduce the rear wake of the vehicle and works basically like a kammback, but for the sides. I would not even be able to venture a ballpark guess on what sort of improvement they are getting by doing that, but I would bet it certainly doesn't hurt! You will see similar shaping at the back of almost every aero focused car, less wake + decreased turbulence will always be good.

EDIT: Metro can type faster than me.

[aerohead]

The aft body is a take off on Paul Jaray's 'Kombinationform' of 1922,although Volvo's lower body is wedged and still attacking the airstream all the way back,whereas Jaray's lower body would already have significant plan taper and elevational taper to reduce the major wake along with that of the greeenhouse.

[MetroMPG]

Jaray Kombinationform:



An even closer Volvo example - 3CC:

[ChazInMT]

Bad news for the C30.

AutoMag C30 Accouncement

[freebeard]

Bad news for the C30.

Good news for anyone who got one because they thought it would be collectible.

jmedia -- Unfortunately, plan taper in the cabin is not going to be a bolt-on for your '89 Escort. However, it is an opportunity for me to point to one of my favorite roof-lines, the VW Golf GTI w-12 650:

In case you can't see it in the picture, it puts what's called a bubble-top coupe roof inside the hatchback roof-line. It has plan taper, and the back of the top forms a wing.