The Design Science Behind Low-To-The-Ground Vehicles

In the last fifty years, sporty car design has changed the way sports cars and racing cars look and feel. If the fifties, if you wanted a racing car, it pretty much looked like most cars on the street, except with tweaks to the engine. In the sixties, car design began to shift, and changes were drastically made to the design of sports cars. The front ends of cars shifted down low to the ground, the wheels became wider and lower, and the back ends of the vehicles shifted up or down, depending on the size of the tires any one manufacturer chose for their vehicle design. Cars like Corvettes, Trans Ams, Camaros, and even foreign cars like Lamborghinis all made these design shifts. There was a science behind it, and here is what that science is about.

​Aerodynamics 

​Car manufacturers that wanted to create sporty, flashy, racy vehicles began looking at aerodynamics. They wanted to create vehicles that could cut through wind resistance at the front when the car was all out at breakneck speed on a racing or test track. That is why all of the previously mentioned vehicles, and several others, have front ends, hoods, and tires that are low to the ground. By pushing the design limits to place the front half of the car lower, the wind would sail or cut right over the front of the vehicle, making it easier to maneuver and faster to drive. 

By placing the rear of the vehicles up slightly higher, the wind went over the front of the vehicle, the top of the vehicle, and up off the back. A higher back end gave these vehicles a chance to utilize bigger, fatter tires with which to grip the road better and provide better traction going around curves. Later, as the car design industry advanced, they found out that they could make the entire vehicle low, creating far less drag, widening the vehicle to enable it with the same fat tires, and providing even better traction, control, and aerodynamic control. 

What That Means for the Average Consumer Buying These Vehicles for Fun

​So if you want to buy something fun, sporty, or flashy to drive, you can expect to pay a little more when it comes to repairs. You should also only have the vehicle repaired by a qualified and certified mechanic for that make and model of vehicle. It ensures that your vehicle will remain the ultimate ride you intended to purchase and use for your own enjoyment.


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