"The Aerodynamic Design of Land Speed Racers: Unveiling the Science"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by The Autopian
Automotive engineer and YouTuber Matt Brown is designing an aerodynamic body for his land speed racer using Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis. His bare-framed car had a drag coefficient worse than an 18-wheeler, and was unstable at 157 mph. With the new streamlined body, he estimates a top speed of 265 mph running on two cylinders, and 325 mph at full power, a significant gain from slashing the drag coefficient from 0.825 to 0.12. The design process involved optimizing the nose and tail to minimize drag, and adding a fin for aerodynamic stability. Challenges lie ahead in constructing the design in fiberglass, but the simulations suggest a much faster performance when the car returns to the salt flats.
