The Ugliness of the Wind Tunnel

Let me just go ahead shout “Fire” in a crowded theatre… aerodynamics have killed road racing. Perhaps I should refine that incendiary statement a bit…aerodynamics have killed the aesthetics of road racing. In just the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to look at sneak peaks of some of next year’s Formula One, Indy car and IMSA/Le Mans racing machines and I have to say, both collectively and individually, they are some of the ugliest racecars I have ever laid eyes on. Of course, the driving force behind the increasing homeliness of these apex racing machines is the pursuit of aerodynamic downforce and efficiency. Yet it wasn’t always this way.

Up until the 1920s, a racecar’s design was predominantly driven by its powertrain—everything else was just the vessel that contained the horsepower. But as speeds increased, designers began to take notice of the impact that the passing wind and its resistance had on a speeding vehicle. Soon racecars were being shaped in what the designers felt was a more “slippery” shape to try and cheat the wind. At this juncture, there was little if any science behind these shapes, rather a combination of guesswork and aesthetics—If it looks fast, it must be fast. This new era of tear drop shapes and rudimentary streamlining, yielded some of the most aesthetically gorgeous racecars of the pre-war era, machines like the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B and the Talbot-Lago T26 are but two prime examples.