Avanti Drag Coefficient

[J Boyle]

I was reading my latest copy of Classic and Sports Car from the UK and they mentioned the drag coeficient of the 1962 Alfa sedan as .34 and comparing it to a Jaguar E-type's cd of.44 (lower numbers are better) which despite it's famous sreamlined curves seems to match the third generation VW van (which seems hard to believe).

Some modern performance cars have fairly high numbers thatnks to wide tires, fender flares and other bits that give more downforce.

Bragging about the numbers were in vogue back in the 80s, with the Audi 5000 having a respectable (for a large sedan) .30. Likewise, the first generation Ford Taurus had good numbers for the period.

Which got me to wondering...has anyone ever measured the drag coefficient of the Avanti?

It seems like something Steve Blake may have done when he was mulling performace options for the car.

It would be interesting to see how it compares with the E-Type.

Both cars have great looking bodies that were modern for their time, but if you look at them today, both have near-vertical windscreens...in fact my Ford truck has a greater rake to it than the Avanti.

Short of having your own wind tunnel, there are websites tyat tell you how to measure your car, but being physics challenged, I'll leave that to someone who know more about the subject than myself.

Edited July 26, 2012 by J Boyle

[profaqualung]

Comparative drag coefficients

When I got my Avanti II, I was researching various info on the cars and came across this site and its drag numbers.

I remember that at the time, I found another site that listed the Avanti [63-64] as having a drag coefficient of .314 to .317 - .02 better than a 2007 ZO6 Vette.

For the life of me, I cannot find that site right now - but I will.

Prof. Aqualung

Edited August 22, 2012 by profaqualung