Ariel Has Actually Built A Ground Effect 'Fan Car'

Channeling the spirit of the Brabham BT46B 'fan car', the Ariel Aero-P Atom uses a pair of fans to suck it to the floor
Ariel Has Actually Built A Ground Effect 'Fan Car'

If you want downforce on a car, slapping on big bits of pokey-out aero bits is generally the way to do it. The only problem is, you have to get up to some fairly high speeds for such devices to work, and the rest of the time, they’re just producing drag. One solution is active aero that only deploys at speeds where it’s effective, but Ariel has done something much more interesting: it’s using fans to suck this ‘Aero-P’ Atom prototype to the tarmac.

F1 fans will know this isn’t a new idea - Gordon Murray’s short-lived Brabham BT46B ‘fan car’ used the concept to great effect way back in 1978, using a massive fan which was ‘officially’ for cooling.

This Ariel on the other hand uses a pair of very small fans, which suck the car - now nicknamed the ‘Vacuum Cleaner’ - to the ground thanks to a rubber skirt mounted under the tub. Yep, we’re talking proper ground effect stuff here.

Ariel has remained pretty tight-lipped on the details, but it does say that by using the fans, the Aero-P can produce downforce from a standstill. Not only that, but drag is substantially reduced. Power consumption should be minimal too, as the fans only turn on when required - for instance in hard cornering or under heavy acceleration.

It’s early days for the project, but it’s certainly something worth keeping an eye on. Speaking about the Aero-P, Ariel director Simon Saunders said:

“We’re already making about three times the downforce as aerofoils, but this really is just the first step and a very early stage in what is a large and complex project to bring to a production reality, so we have a lot more work to do.”

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Comments

Akashneel

Fan powwwaaa!!

09/13/2016 - 16:07 |
2 | 1
V-Tech and EcoBoost kicked in yo

Wow that car….sucks

09/13/2016 - 16:10 |
44 | 1
Anonymous

It’ll be scraping on… ATOMS. Ba dum tss

09/13/2016 - 16:11 |
9 | 1
RoyP

And this is why I am a FAN of Ariel

09/13/2016 - 16:11 |
297 | 0
Fad Hill

In reply to by RoyP

Cool.

09/13/2016 - 16:18 |
9 | 1
DL🏁

In reply to by RoyP

Yep, its amazing how they decided to revive the idea of sucking every ATOM of air from underneath the car

09/13/2016 - 16:18 |
128 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by RoyP

Here take a cookie

09/13/2016 - 16:24 |
3 | 1
Mickey Mouse

In reply to by RoyP

Then again, even James May would have to say that it sucks! (Then again, he would do that when explaining how its fans work!)

09/13/2016 - 18:43 |
14 | 1
THEmajicCARPET

In reply to by RoyP

Top 10 comments of the week material right here

09/13/2016 - 21:55 |
1 | 0
Poke

Does it work like the 2J?

09/13/2016 - 16:20 |
25 | 1
[Flux]

In reply to by Poke

More like the X2014 Fan Car.

09/13/2016 - 18:14 |
4 | 0
RoyP

So this car is basically a vacuum cleaner..

09/13/2016 - 16:30 |
55 | 1
Car enthusiast Dennis (Volvo Squad)(Audi Squad)

In reply to by RoyP

09/13/2016 - 19:13 |
6 | 0
Toni Sukles

In reply to by RoyP

Sorry, it’s the most expensive vacuum cleaner……………………………..In the world

09/14/2016 - 05:50 |
2 | 0
Joel Farley

In reply to by RoyP

Gran Turismo sounds will finally be realistic!!!

09/14/2016 - 06:18 |
9 | 0
Speciale!

I was an Ariel air conditioner, now I’m a real fan.

<i>ba dum tss</i>

09/13/2016 - 17:16 |
12 | 1

<em>ba dum tss </em><br>

09/14/2016 - 02:34 |
0 | 0
themi core

SHOW US THE UNDER SIDEEEE

09/13/2016 - 17:50 |
3 | 0
Tatsuya Mikkinoppe

Driver’s face without helmet would be inside out I presume…

09/13/2016 - 17:58 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

great until it goes off the track or over a bit of gravel

09/13/2016 - 18:00 |
1 | 1