aerodynamic 1947 Sagitta at Classic Days 2013 at Dyck Castle near Düsseldorf, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, Europe
The 1947 VW beetle-based V2 Sagitta was developed by the end of WW2 by Kurt C. Volkhart, a German engineer who had been exploring the work of German aerodynamicist Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld and had been working on streamlined versions of VW’s type 60 Beetle (KDF wagen) since the early 1940s. This is how the V2 Sagitta project came about. Volkhart mated a Beetle chassis and powertrain ( litre hp standard boxer engine) to a streamlined lightweight aluminium body that was so slick it allowed the car to reach a top speed of 140 km/h (87mph). Because of the war, only one example of the V2 Sagitta was built in 1947. The car has recently been found back in Austria and was brought over to Wolfsburg in January 2013 by Volkswagen to test it in its wind tunnel. VW wanted to see how the V2 Sagitta stood up to today’s cars. The results were amazing. It turned out that the V2 Sagitta has a drag coefficient (Cd) of corresponding to a frontal area of square meters. This means the car is two times more aerodynamic than the VW Beetle it was based on, which had a Cd of 0,46 and a frontal area of square meters. This in itself is not so surprising considering the shape of the old Beetle. Compared to modern cars however, it turns out the 1947 Sagitta is more aerodynamic than Volkswagen’s Golf Mk7, which has a drag coefficient of and a frontal area of square meters. Not only that, but it also beats the most aerodynamic production car of the moment, the Mercedes-Benz CLA, which has a Cd of ! The sole example of the Sagitta is kept in the Prototyp Museum in Hamburg Germany.
Size: 3872px × 2592px
Location: Dyck Castle near Düsseldorf, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, Europe
Photo credit: © eddie linssen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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