[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz69B6j5Cf0[/ame] During the test drive of the MINI Coupe I had a chance to play investigate the various features of the new Coupe. It’s the first time a wing like this has shown up on any BMW product. And as cool as it looks, it was born out of functional need. The wing reduces lift on the rear axel by 40 kg or almost 90 pounds. It also helps reduce turbulence that is a by-product of the short rear window with air first flowing through the roof mounted spoiler onto the larger wing. Both spoilers were created in BMW’s new wind tunnel and are considered so crucial to the performance of the car that, if the wing doesn’t move up at 50 mpg for one reason or another, the car won’t allow DSC to be fully dis-engaged. You can flip the wing up at any time below 50 mph via toggle switch near the dome lights (ironically the same place you would have put the roof down on a convertible). It’s a cool trick and one that owners will love seeing in the rear view mirror. It also really completes the look of the car – especially with the optional stripes.
The fact that you can use the toggles to make it stay up at lower speeds is pretty handy come race day...but what kind of fuel consumption will it cost?
How squirrely will the car be above 55 them the module fails and it goes up and down at will, like the window dippers? :lol: Jim
I remember when the Audrey TT came out. They were crashing them left & right in you-rope. They had a high speed instability problem that a recall to add a duck-tail spoiler cured. It worked well at spoiling the looks of the TT. My guess is that the Coupe may have the same instability issue, hence the wagging wing. Just a SWAG on my part. I don't think folks in this country drive at high enough speeds where it will make a difference if it wags the wing or not. ostcount