Automakers want their cars to yield as much performance and efficiency as possible, both for sales and bragging rights. To that end, they want to minimize drag when it comes to design. This is because drag causes friction, something which increases the faster a vehicle goes, making the engine consume more fuel just to keep it moving.
But that’s not all. If a car isn’t aerodynamically optimized, it could produce a higher amount of wind noise, making even short journeys uncomfortable for occupants. And if insufficient downforce is generated in relation to the engine’s power, the car could end up being unstable, making it dangerous to drive at high speeds.
In just over a decade since Ford’s introduction of the Model T in 1908, engineers began to see the wisdom in reducing drag by improving a car’s silhouette. These days, automakers rely on both computer modeling and wind tunnel testing to measure vehicle aerodynamics, sometimes used in combination with a rolling road to get more accurate results.
Electric cars are particularly susceptible to aerodynamics, relying on a low drag coefficient to improve efficiency and range.
