McLaren Elva

McLaren unveiled its open-top Elva supercar last week, And aside from the striking looks and massive power, There was one thing that stuck out: a system developed by the company called the Active Air Management System (or AAMS). The system creates a channel that goes through the nose of the car and out of the hood. The goal is to direct air up above the cabin to develop a sort of virtual windshield. The Gurney flap shown in this computational fluid dynamics video above folds up from the body when the system is in use, Providing a low-pressure system for everything to work as intended. It looks a bit strange, we know, but it works. As you can see, the air is directed above and around the cabin, Forming a sort of bubble where the cockpit is mostly undisrupted. U.K. publication Pistonheads was given a ride in the Elva both with and without the system in place, And according to them, There was a noticeable difference between 30 and 70 mph (112.65 km/h). McLaren confirmed to Pistonheads the system won't work well over 70 mph (112.65 km/h), and because it needs a lot of air to work, Won't exactly work at low speeds, either. But you have to admit, it's a supremely clever Way to make the open-cockpit experience a bit more livable. We're curious to try it out for ourselves.

Tag: McLaren Elva

How the McLaren Elva Invisible Windshield Works