CD of the Ford Focus Electric?

[klaus]

I came across this article talking about the co-efficient of drag and how important it is to fuel economy. Does anyone know what the co-efficient of drag on the 2012 Ford Focus Electric is?

http://www.wheels.ca/article/799835

The article says the lowest CD on any production vehicle was the EV1 at 0.19. The modern corvette is 0.29.

 

[california]

This press release at Ford has some details about the new Ford Focus, which is the same shape the Ford Focus Electric will have, or actually the shape the Ford Focus Electric does have...

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33939

The article says that Ford spent over 1000 hours in the wind tunnel and was able to get the Ford Focus Electric to have 7.8 percent less aerodynamic drag than the previous Ford Focus model.

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric has a drag co-efficient of 0.295, while the last version of the Ford Focus had a drag co-efficient of 0.320.

Some of the features that help the Ford Focus Electric achieve this lower number:
- notably 'faster' windshield angle
- active grill shutters that are used to control airflow through the engine bay
- front end sealing beneath the engine and around the hood
- sharp edge on rear lamp moldings allowing airflow to seperate from the Ford Focus Electric
- rear diffuser integrated into the bumper molding

 

[klaus]

Thanks California!
So the Ford Focus Electric's coefficient of drag is only 0.005 higher than the modern Corvette? Seems like a car as short as the corvette should do better than that, but maybe Chevy isn't really trying for fuel economy :lol: