STUTTGART, Germany /PRNewswire/ --
Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com)
and http://ots.de/omzHM
Aerodynamics is certainly one of the most complex issues the
automotive industry has to deal with today. Still, in the 21st
century, experts can use high-performance computers the size of
refrigerators that spend days unravelling the mysteries of air
flows. Carl F. W. BORGWARD, who became interested in airplanes, and
later helicopters, at a very early age, realised back in the 1930s
that aerodynamic principles could be applied to automobiles much in
the same way they were used in aircraft construction. On the one
hand, this would reduce fuel consumption. On the other, it would
enable increases in top speed and acceleration to levels previously
undreamed of.
One of
BORGWARD's first aerodynamic milestones was the "Windspiel", a
four-door saloon that was developed in 1936 and presented at the
Berlin Motor Show in March 1937. The car made practical use of the knowledge
gained by the leading aerodynamics researcher of the
time, Paul Jaray. In terms of its styling, the vehicle also
anticipated the Airflyte models that the innovative American
automaker Nash began building in 1949. The concept for the vehicle
was implemented by BORGWARD's Chief Designer, Herbert Scarisbrick, and Plant Manager Friedrich Kynast. The two even held a patent for the side
windows used for ventilation. Although the saloon's engine only had
an output of 40 hp, the car was able to reach a top speed of 130
km/h, which said more about its streamlined design than any drag
coefficient ever could.
The
pontoon-shaped BORGWARD Hansa 1500 had only just been presented in
1949 when work began on a new body variant in a project known as
the "Hansa 1800 Fastback." At this point, BORGWARD had already
started having vehicles tested in wind tunnels at
the Hanover College of Technology and the Research
Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines (FKFS)
in Stuttgart. The new fastback was an attempt to
aerodynamically optimize the pontoon shape. It is no longer
possible to say with certainty whether BORGWARD's own wind tunnel
for 1:5-scale models was used for the development of the
streamlined four-door vehicle. Still, the early investment in such
a facility on the southern side of the BORGWARD plant underscores
the importance aerodynamics held for the vehicle developers at
the Bremen-based company. In any case, the Hansa fastback
attracted a great deal of attention at the IAA International Motor
Show in Frankfurt in April 1951.
The
concept still wasn't completely ready for series production,
however. Engine developer Karl-Ludwig Brandt built a six-cylinder engine
especially for the fastback project. The unit delivered an
impressive maximum output of 82 hp. The bodywork, on the other
hand, was only touched up slightly, and it shed some of its chrome
trim during the testing phase. The first models of this aerodynamic
wonder - now known as the "Hansa 2400 Sport" - rolled off the line
in October 1952. Unfortunately, sales of the unusually
shaped vehicle never took off, which is why BORGWARD later launched
the 2400 as a notchback saloon as well.
The
fact that aerodynamic efficiency and a notchback design go together
well was impressively demonstrated by the BORGWARD Isabella, which
went into production in 1954 and boasted a surprisingly low drag
coefficient (Cd value) of 0.40. By comparison, the Ford 17 M from
that time had a Cd value of 0.54. Even more aerodynamic than the
Isabella was its successor model - the P 100. The vehicle's
panoramic windows and a new trapezoid body shape chosen by BORGWARD
designer "Don" Roberto Hernandez also led to new and unforeseen
challenges for the wind tunnel experts from Bremen. Initial top-speed tests led the engineers to
suspect that the four-door model was not very aerodynamically
efficient. Carl F. W. Borgward immediately sent a 1:10-scale wood
model to the FKFS wind tunnel in Stuttgart. BORGWARD painted the 1:1 prototype in grey and
glued woollen threads onto the body at specific intervals. If the
threads lay against the body at high speeds, it was considered to
be a sign of good aerodynamics. If they flapped around wildly, the
opposite conclusion was drawn. The initial finding was that the
aerodynamic problems might have been caused by the prototype's
projecting roof line.
The P
100's roof was modified and the vehicle was able to achieve the
ambitious top speed of 160 km/h that the engineers had set in the
specifications - yet another example of BORGWARD's sophisticated
aerodynamic expertise, way back in the early 1960s.
Further information
BORGWARD Group AG
Kriegsbergstrasse 11
70174 Stuttgart,
Germany
Jürgen
Schramek
Head of Product Communications
E-mail [email protected]
Telephone +49-711-7941851043
http://www.borgward.com