Aerodynamics

UK company White Motorcycle Concepts, best known for the big hole in its land speed racer, has stuck a big hole and a small hybrid system into a three-wheeled police scooter, and says these two modifications can reduce emissions by up to 50 percent.

There's no bike on earth remotely like the bizarre WMC250EV, an electric land speed racer built to slash aerodynamic drag by taking the radical step of tunneling a giant hole through the middle of it. Boy does it look surreal on track in this video.

British company McMurtry Automotive has shown off its new Spéirling at Goodwood. It's a miniature electric hypercar with a Gordon Murray-style fan system that generates more than 500 kg of downforce at a standstill – and 120 decibels.

There's no motorcycle on the planet like this one. British company WMC has put land speed record holders on notice with a 2WD, hydraulically hub-steered electric motorcycle designed around a great big hole it says can reduce drag by nearly 70 percent.

No props, no jets, no rockets – Spencer Lisenby just broke the world speed record for remote controlled aircraft, going transonic using nothing but the wind, and an incredible degree of skill in a highly dangerous technique called dynamic soaring.

The man behind the magnificent McLaren F1 is starting up a new company to produce something even more lightweight and extreme than his most famous creation. The 980-kg Gordon Murray Motors T.50 will begin deliveries in 2020 at a price around US$2.2 million.

Is it a snow plow? Did it just crash into the back of two other cars stacked on top of one another? No, it's a specially prepared hillclimb racer that makes so much power that every bit of downforce counts. Meet Franco Scribante Racing's ridiculous-looking Nissan GT-R.

Capable of swimming at speeds of up to 74 km/h (46 mph), the shortfin mako is the world's fastest species of shark. Scientists now have a new understanding of how it's able to reach such speeds, and they believe that their findings could be applied to improving human technology.

Powered by the front half of a Tuono 1100 V4, the Aprilia Concept RS660 unveiled at EICMA is a lightweight parallel twin supersport bike with comfy ergonomics for the road and a frontal aerodynamic profile that changes angle to adjust the balance between drag and downforce.

If you need any further convincing on the impact of wind drag on vehicle efficiency, try this for size: a British fellow just hopped on a pushbike and went 149 mph while slipstreaming a Porsche. Neil "Soupy" Campbell now holds the European bicycle speed record, but not the world one – yet.

​Although aerodynamics play a part in the design of all road bikes, triathlon bikes tend to be particularly aero-focused. Ceepo's 2019 Shadow-R really takes things to an extreme, by doing away with the traditional wind-catching vertical front fork.

Remember back when cyclists had to travel to a wind tunnel or velodrome if they wanted to get their aerodynamic drag measured? Actually, that time is now. It might not be for much longer, however, if the handlebar-mounted AeroPod reaches production.