Interesting Audi A2 info http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1716511 I was also reading the latest Road and Track and they say the A2 will be the lowest CD production car, beating the Prius. [Broken External Image]:http://www.germancarfans.com/photos/3020411.001/1001big.jpg
I do notice that more and more new car models have headlights similar to the Prius (or visa-versa). Don't know if this is a trend, or if there's a technology reason that's shaping things that way.
so, are these cars coming to us market anytime soon? and how much are they charging in europe ryt now?
I haven't measured or anything, but the Toyota and Honda headlight lenses look the same to me. Toyota installs them vertically and Honda horizontally.
I would assume that if you played around with the /a computer programme to determine the optimum automobile aerodynamic shape given all the features you wanted in a vehicle you should end up with the basic Prius shape. Considering all the technology/investment Toyota has put into the Prius it is my bet what we have is that result. :wink:
From http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/a2_2/content.shtml: Audi's engineers have reduced the drag coefficient of the A2 1.2 TDI to a sensationally low cD = 0.25 - making the three-litre version the most aerodynamically efficient of any production passenger car. And to think that I have read so many times that the most aerodynamically efficient production car is the Prius.
Without being too serious about this .... I did note that the information is "audiworld.com" .... you wouldn't have an independent source of those figures would you? Was that obtained using their wind tunnel and programme? Just curious. 8)
Umm, there are other cars more aerodynamic that the current Prius (I think the classic had a cD of 0.25 while the current on is 0.26?). The Lexus LS430 has a cD value of 0.26 (0.25 with air suspension), the Insight = cD of 0.25 and the failed Saturn GM EV1 had a cD value of under 0.25 (can't remember of the top of my head)
From the German Audi site http://www.audi.com/de/de/neuwagen/a2/a2/a2.jsp the price starts at about EURO 17,000 or so. Then there is extras such as leather, special paint, upgraded radio and and and.... No idea when/if it reaches the USA.
Take a cube or block of parafin, suspend the block ridgedly from above in a fluid (air or water). Turn the fluid on so it moves into, around and past the block. Over time the block will become "fusiform" - shape of least resistance. Most fish are fusiform, with tuna being one of the faster fish. Vehicles will increasingly become fusiform to resist the coefficient of drag (air resistance). Prius will also modify shape over time to reduce cD. A vehicle that does not acknowledg cD can be any shape (i.e., Scion box vehicles) and pay the price in lowered fuel economy.
