Thursday 11th July 2013

Spoiler alert: PH Blog

They're called spoilers for a reason says Harris

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The pop-up spoiler has become something of a regular fixture in modern cars. We can assume that it owes much to the original Audi TT whose slippery shape caused rear axle lift a high speed, and which was subsequently blamed for some high speed accidents. What was the first pop-up spoiler? The Thema 8.32? That pre-dates the VW Corrado whose neatly integrated ducktail was originally programmed to rise at 70mph -thereby giving Mr Plod a perfect source of evidence.

Harris was a fan of the sleek looking Audi A7...

Once a marketing novelty, the electric lift-reducer is now commonplace, especially it would seem on VW group products. All Porsches bar the Cayman sprout something at speed, as do many Audis. The need to keep the rear axle on terra-firma should offer the styling department a perfect opportunity to get creative and beautiful, but having seen most of these protrusions fully-deployed over the past few weeks, it's hard to conclude that they are anything other than a bit ropey.

Take the Porsche 991. Neatly packaged around the arse area in the Porsche tradition, but once in full downforce mode it takes on the appearance of something that has been rear-ended by a Mercedes Sprinter. And underneath the rather apologetic winglet you can see nasty black plastic. It's horrid.

...until this sprouted from the bootlid

And only beaten in the spoiling (pun intended) stakes by the new Boxster's wing. Its crime is perhaps more pernicious than the 911's because it utterly destroys the lines of the best looking Porsche since the Carrera GT. I wince whenever I overtake one on the M4. If I owned one I think I'd pull the fuse and stomach a few wobbles on Autobahn slip-roads. The Cayman is similarly afflicted, but the effect isn't as bad.

First prize must go to the Audi A7. At low speed this car, to my eyes, has one of the most pleasing silhouettes around, long, graceful and elegant. And then above a certain speed the whole thing gets mangled by the most crass, awkward rear aerofoil imaginable. The effect is startling and educational for numbskulls like me who never pay enough attention to the crucial work of design and styling teams. A thin sliver of bodywork rises a few inches from an A7 bootlid and suddenly it looks like a dog with worms, dragging its bottom along the ground.

If you're going to do it you may as well do it properly

Are there any genuinely appealing hidden spoilers in sale right now? One that you might, if you were feeling a little flash, choose to keep elevated at low speed - were such a function available. Incidentally, you can do this in a Panamera, which is odd in the Turbo, even with its swanky double-hinged effort, but is plain baffling in lesser models which simply push a piece of glossy plastic four inches skywards.

Later this year all will be saved by the McLaren P1. In full downforce mode the rear wing looks like it'll make then car wheelie above 70mph. I know it's the type of car that can accommodate such drama, but I love the way McLaren has decided to go completely OTT.

 

[Dazed & Confused]

"All Porsches bar the Cayman sprout something at speed, as do many Audis"

Cayenne?

[gforceg]

To be generous, you might say it's a rare modern example of substance leading style. If so, carry on.

If not, they can make a car look a little awkward and in the case of people who leave the spoiler up at low speeds / standstill (Crossfire owner with the lead foot, I'm looking at you), I just assume it's stuck and won't retract.

[Andy ap]

Ah stop complaining its just toys for the Flash brigade! Let em have them it just makes them look even more like posers!

[renaultgeek]

[quote=Dazed & Confused]"All Porsches bar the Cayman sprout something at speed, as do many Audis"

Cayenne?
[/quote]

He said Porsches!

zing!

[mrclav]

I'm pretty sure that's what he meant! If the spoilers genuinely aid with aero then surely they're justified although I don't know enough on the subject to comment with any certainty. Surely though a pop-up wing on something like an SLS would make a difference than on something like a base model A7?

One could also say that they are at least only a temporary aberration - looking at some of the fixed rear wings of yesteryear makes me laugh as I think they genuinely look comical - Lotus Espirit V8 I'm looking at you...

[Garlick]

What annoys me the most is when Pork drivers leave the spoiler permanently raised.

No, just no. Your Cayman looks silly parked with the tiny little spoiler raised. 993 Turbo whaletail it is not.

[Krikkit]

I agree fully on the A7 - I see one daily and its shape is truly lovely without that spoiler deployed.

On the P1 - I would say it doesn't count; It's a wing and a spoiler, depending how the computer is using it.

[Miura Anjin]

If we must have electric protuberances to combat high speed lift, could we not have them under the car please? Some kind of drop down diffuser?

Makes sense to me - you wouldn't want such a thing dangling between the rear wheels while picking your way along a pot-holed country lane, but on the M11 at 70ishmph, why not?

[TheJimi]

Maybe it's just me, but from the photo's above, I think the A7's spolier is actually very subtle.

[GranCab]

This has to be the worst example ...

[Monty Python]

Do these protruding edifices actually do anything at 70mph? Most look too small or lack any degree of aerodynamic profile. I bet most are only there to ensure more cash is extracted from the buyers' wallet when they buy the car then again on the numerous occasions when they stop working (and you can bet this will be in the half-deployed state so you have to get it fixed).

[Captain Muppet]

I can't see the back of my car when I'm driving, so I don't care if it has a pop-up spoiler or not.


Pop-up headlights on the other hand are massive ugly airbrakes that stick up in front of you like clowns shoes. But I love them, and there seems to be quite a bit of retro fondness for them now they've gone.

[RichB]

Garlick said:

What annoys me the most is when Pork drivers leave the spoiler permanently raised..

You're easily annoyed, there are more important things in life.

[Captain Muppet]

Monty Python said:

Do these protruding edifices actually do anything at 70mph? Most look too small or lack any degree of aerodynamic profile. I bet most are only there to ensure more cash is extracted from the buyers' wallet when they buy the car then again on the numerous occasions when they stop working (and you can bet this will be in the half-deployed state so you have to get it fixed).

Try holding a plank sideways out of a car window at 70mph. The forces are non-trivial.

Although nothing that a careful driver wouldn't be able to live without.


Mat777 is a failed aerodynamics student, he should have an interesting view on this.

[Garlick]

RichB said:

You're easily annoyed, there are more important things in life.

How dare you say that to me, I was just raising my opinion and you come along with...

...oh, you might have a point.

[RichB]

Chris Harris said:

...only beaten in the spoiling (pun intended) stakes by the new Boxster's wing. <clip> I wince whenever I overtake one on the M4.

Really? Strikes me that you didn't have much to write about so made up a not very good rant about nothing of little consequence

[OlberJ]

Got to say i agree. The spoiler on both my 928 and 964 are gash.

Dislike the 911 electric job so much i'm trying to find a decent 3.0 wing for it or give up and go ducktail.

I'm not a massive fan of the spoilerless look either. If it's there on the move, i want to look at it when it's parked up too. It serves no purpose, to me at least, to have a flat decklid. Ever.

[kambites]

As modern styling gimmicks go, I don't think they're that bad.

[moribund]

They're not all bad. I've had the pleasure of a few fleeting moments behind a hard-driven McLaren MP4-12C and it's active spoiler/airbrake looked brilliant almost to the point of being distracting enough to cause a crash.

[anonymous-user]

There is only one spoiler that can be left in the "fully extended" position imo, although, as it's old skool, you have to get out a socket set to do it:





;-)