"In 1942, engineers took a 130-horsepower Russian aircraft motor and bolted it to the back of the car for some test runs."<p>"Test runs" is likely a euphemism for "got drunk and nearly killed themselves playing silly buggers". That thing is a steampunk precursor of the insanity that was the ME 163 Komet - just add wings and a leather flying hat with goggles!
Two various tidbits:<p>- The inventor apparently managed to rescue several jewish people [0] when designing and prototyping for the Wehrmacht in Riga, Latvia.<p>- This immediately made me think of the little known Volkswagen 1-litre car [1]. Something like that with an electric drivetrain would be close to my ideal car...<p>[0] <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Schl%C3%B6r_von_Westhofen-Dirmstein" rel="nofollow">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Schl%C3%B6r_von_Westhofen...</a><p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car</a>
The Germans have had many super aerodynamic, but otherwise impractical cars over the years. Of recent note is the VW XL1, a recent production car with two people sitting diagonally:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car</a>
> very vulnerable to crosswinds<p>So was the VW bus. I know from experience. It's a very dangerous car on the highway when you've got a stiff crosswind. You have to cant the steering wheel into the wind. If you drive through a cut, the car will veer into the wind, and leaving the cut, it'll will veer the other way. If you're not anticipating this, you can find yourself in the other lane facing oncoming traffic.<p>I don't miss that beast.
Before entering the post I was certain it's about Tropfenwagen [1] displayed in e.g. Technikmuseum in Berlin. Either way for the newly constructed highways they indeed shifted to aerodynamic cars with the body extending over the front wheels, but to the model ...cough... "borrowed" from Czechoslovakian Tatra [2].<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpler_Tropfenwagen" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpler_Tropfenwagen</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_87" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_87</a>
8l / 100km? thats in the ballpark of my prius 2006, that consumes around 7l/100km. but this was 1939 ... have we come so non-far?<p>whats in play here? weight? fuel quality? engine? ...
Another overly aerodynamic car from a few years earlier - Mercedes-Benz W 125, which set a speed record that wasn't outdone for some 80 years. Incidentally, someone tried to outdo them and killed themselves in doing so, which ended car manufacturers going for new records.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W125_Rekordwagen" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W125_Rekordwagen</a>
Random question: how were very accurate curves like that machined in the 1930s? What was the process for creating the tooling that could create that kind of curved aluminum so accurately back then?
Apparently quite similar to what Alfa tried much earlier on
<a href="https://www.museoalfaromeo.com/it-it/collezione/Pages/A-L-F-A--4060-HP-Aerodinamica.aspx" rel="nofollow">https://www.museoalfaromeo.com/it-it/collezione/Pages/A-L-F-...</a>
This looks vaguely similar to the Volkswagen XL1 [0] - similar internal layout but with a much longer nose.<p>[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_1-litre_car</a>
That's a beauty, shape is reminiscent of the Dymaxion.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLZE23EJKs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLZE23EJKs</a>
A present day German car with a drag coefficient of 0.200: <a href="https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2022-mercedes-benz-eqs-ev-most-aerodynamic-car/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2022-mercedes-benz-eqs-ev...</a><p>A present day American three-wheeler with a drag coefficient of 0.13: <a href="https://www.aptera.us/" rel="nofollow">https://www.aptera.us/</a>
I watched a video about EVs and it mentioned aerodynamics. It compared a new EV to a Tesla the EV discussed had a drag coefficient of 0.2 the Tesla was 0.2008. That tiny difference meant the non-Tesla had 50km more range all things equal (except the drag coefficient).
This modern take on the super-aerodynamic shaves another 30% off the Schlörwagen's already low drag coefficient of 0.186:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMqEmUGxX4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDMqEmUGxX4</a>
I saw a documentary the other day ("Tegenlicht" [0]) about full-solar cars and the quest of Lightyear One [1] to maximize aerodynamics while still being a comfortable family car. Early models still come with hefty price tag, but I really liked the design.<p>[0] (Dutch) <a href="https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/tegenlicht/kijk/afleveringen/2021-2022/Rijden-op-zon.html#" rel="nofollow">https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/tegenlicht/kijk/afleveringen/...</a><p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightyear_One" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightyear_One</a>
Based on the headline, I thought of this from 1939, before the Porsche cars that most people recognize:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_64" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_64</a><p><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/VW_Typ_60_K_10_-_Porsche_Typ_64_%28Berlin-Rom-Wagen%29%2C_Bj.1939.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/VW_Typ_6...</a>
My first thought is "based on a wing? That'd give it uplift..."<p>I love the curved glass on these cars though. I recently fell in love with the Alfa Stradale 33, one aspect being the curved glass.<p>But then I have other ideas/desires with cars, not all of them compatible with either sensibilities/reality/each-other.
Reminds me a bit of Citroen DS, which was also revolutionary aerodynamic. Yet practical. And VERY popular.<p>Here's a video about the DS's aerodynamics: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1_WQQAwzw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1_WQQAwzw</a>
“consumed 8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers – 20 and 40 percent less fuel than the reference vehicle.”<p>How efficient are modern vehicle designs in terms of drag? Are we 90% efficient or do we sacrifice a lot of mpg’s for attractive body styling?
The Tatras,starting with the 87, were a more practical take...<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_87" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_87</a>
I've seen bicycles with a hull shaped like this. E.g.,<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIsa0L5UNgs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIsa0L5UNgs</a>
> In 1942, engineers took a 130-horsepower Russian aircraft motor and bolted it to the back of the car for some test runs.<p>The good old “warum nicht?” of Nazi engineers…
Is the "bionic fish car" mentioned on Top Gear descended from it?<p><a href="https://youtu.be/ri3CUzsv7Gg" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/ri3CUzsv7Gg</a>