Spoiler improves racer aerodynamics

Press, 16 July 1987, Page 33

Spoiler improves racer aerodynamics

Just about every example of the high-per-formance variant in any mass-produced car model range is distinguished by an upturned spoiler mounted on its rear end these days. A spoiler has been shown in wind-tunnel testing to improve a car’s aerodynamics, but whether Ferrari, the originator of the rear spoiler, had that in mind when it first employed it on its sports-racers of a quarter of a century ago, is arguable, according to Stirling Moss, who is still regarded throughout the world as the epitome of racing drivers. Brought to Auckland, as part of the promotional campaign for last week’s Motor Expo, by Trade and Industrial Exhibitions, Ltd, in association with Fleet Card (NZ), Ltd, an exhibitor at Expo, Moss recalled the appearance of the rear-end spoiler on

the Ferrari team’s sportsracers all those years ago. These cars had shown a tendency to catch fire when being refuelled from chums in the course of pit stops during international sports car races. Then, at a particular international race, the Ferraris appeared with a distinctive upturned lip on the rear end. Italian team members explained that the lip had been added as a barrier to divert petrol spilled during refuelling towards the sides of the cars rather than down the back where it could easily trickle on to the red hot exhaust pipes and ignite. At the time the explanation seemed logical enough, but Moss inferred that the modification could have been based on aerodynamic principles rather than a simplistic engineering solution to a hazardous problem.