Rally Car Aerodynamics - Side Slipping through the Air

For more information, visit ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this video, we’re analyzing how aerodynamics impact the performance of rally cars. Surprisingly enough, in many ways the aerodynamics of rally cars are far more complex than in Formula One, where the cars enjoy some of the world’s smoothest and grippiest bits of tarmac. That’s quite a big contrast to rally cars, where driving in a straight line without wheel spin, drifting or jumping is a rare occasion. So, where do you start if you want to optimize the aerodynamic performance? The hard reality is that you’ll have to look at multiple scenario’s and strike a delicate balance between aerodynamic performance in each of those. Let’s take this 2016 Skoda Rally car in normal setup (regular ride height) and straight-line driving at 40 m/s as the reference. As shown by these red clouds, which indicate where a drag-increasing wake is created, this clearly isn’t the most s