Wing (automotive)
- For the panels around the wheels of a car see Fender (vehicle)
A wing in this context is an aerodynamic device intended to generate downforce on an automobile. The first production car to feature a rear wing was the 1969 Mercury Cyclone spoiler, soon followed by the drastically larger Superbird and Daytona wings. The angle of attack of the wing on some cars can be adjusted to increase downward force over the rear wheels, but drag is also increased. The simulation and testing of wings can be very expensive.
Spoilers are often confused with wings, and the terms are frequently (yet incorrectly) used interchangeably. Spoilers increase grip by reducing the lift created by a car's shape, and also reduce drag by eliminating the induced drag associated with that lift. Wings increase grip by producing downforce, at the expense of additional induced drag. Because wings cause turbulence, they are technically a subset of spoilers, but spoiling the airflow is not their primary purpose. Although similar in form to the wing of an aircraft, wings used in automotive applications are usually inverted (oriented upside-down) and sometimes reversed (oriented backwards) by comparison.
It has become fashionable to add wings to cars as an aftermarket fashion accessory.
See also
- Gurney flap
- Winged sprint cars