In the conclusion to our month long look at the aerodynamic elements of modern day road and race cars, we will be looking at some of the accompanying elements that help the main aero devices do their jobs. If you haven’t read about these devices, you can take a look at the last three articles in this series: Part 1: the front splitter, Part 2: the rear wing, and Part 3: the rear diffuser. These three devices all work in harmony to achieve the maximum possible downforce with the least amount of drag. Sometimes, however, these elements need help directing air over them in the most efficient way.

One of the helpful elements used is called a bumper canard or dive plane. As seen on the DTM Touring Car above, the bumper canards are just above the front splitter and below the Dunlop sticker. These canards serve to add more downforce at the front increasing overall car balance in cars that have excessive rear downforce. This allows the car to be setup to maximum downforce without having to compromise the cars handling .

Also in prevalent use is the vortex generator. These devices create a venturi effect that keeps the air flowing closely together. This compressed flow allows the air to be directed much more accurately and in higher volume. You can see these devices on both the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR (pictured) and the Subaru Impreza WRX STi. In these cars, the vortex generator sends more air over the rear wing, thereby increasing its efficiency.

In the past, other unusual designs were used to increase overall downforce. The most famous of these odd designs was the Brabham BT46B Formula 1 car, otherwise known as “the fan car”. This car had been designed by Gordan Murray to use a fan attached to the engine to suck air from underneath the car. This lead to a vacuum effect being created underneath the car which allowed it to stick to the road like glue. Niki Lauda and John Watson went on to pilot the fan car for only one race: the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp. Watson DNF’d and Lauda went on to win comfortably. The fan car ended up being banned shortly thereafter.

This concludes our look at modern car aerodynamics. Please leave a comment to discuss your thoughts or opinions on this piece. Let us know what you’d like to hear about next time.