The answer for the inquisitive

The shape, and consequently the beauty of the automobile, was created at the beginning of the last century. We should never forget the fact that when it first came to light, the car didn't have the form it enjoys today. The first examples were mere carriages that replaced horses with a steam, electric or internal combustion engine. The efforts of the engineers or, as often was the case, improvised inventors, were entirely dedicated to research and technical invention: engines, steering, suspensions, brakes, wheels. This rapid evolution soon led to the demise of the carriage form, also because the new mechanical vehicle would almost immediately be drawn into challenges and, subsequently, real races. Competition placed new demands not only at a mechanical level, but also on the external shape, creating an almost symbiotic relationship between evolution and aerodynamics. It was aerodynamics that increasingly imposed itself as the driving force behind the development of the automobile’s modern form. The history of aerodynamics is in fact the history of the car-shape and we are delighted it has generated so much interest in those who visit our social media pages and the TCCT website.

It is interesting, for example, to discover how in 1921 Paul Jaray catapulted the design of the same car forward with his take on the conventional Audi Type K touring car. which anticipated the whole repertoire of modern car forms.

Week after week we will travel the long journey made so far, to discover why and how air, for so long considered the enemy of performance, was exploited to the point it became a precious friend.

Aerodynamics marked the first major change in the style of cars