Under the Hood of World’s First 500-Mile EV

[bpierre]

https://spectrum.ieee.org/lucid-air-500-miles-ev

[dua2020]

Interesting that such a blocky and traditional looking design can claim to get a Coefficient of drag of 0.21

The Mercedes-Benz EQS (similar luxury class) is much more gloopy looking and claims 0.2

[foxyv → dua2020]

Aerodynamics is a weird voodoo science. Everything gets non-linear so fast in a moving compressible fluid. Sometimes a smooth surface can be draggy, where a sharp one isn't, just because a bump upstream from that location causes a vortex that needs to be disrupted. Sometimes a small divot can improve performance radically because it moves the flow boundary away from the surface.

I wouldn't be surprised if some Aero Wizard came up with a way to make a brick aerodynamic with some magic ducting and a spoiler.