The CLA-Class - Mercedes Benz

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Sculpted by the wind: the world champion for aerodynamics
The wind changes from southerly to north-easterly. Speed: 140 km/h.
A star stands firm against the onslaught of the air masses as an engineer’s
hand moves over the fine lines on the bonnet, causing one of them to
change to a much more vivid colour. The gale-force wind is now blowing
from dead ahead. Yet it is strangely quiet – as, indeed, it always is when
a storm is raging in the Mercedes-Benz lab. Here, in the virtual wind
tunnel, the new CLA demonstrating its aerodynamic qualities is a
sophisticated digital model – just like the air flows that buffet it.
It takes time and a great deal of meticulous work to develop good
aerodynamics. Every component generates results which have to
be included, calculated precisely, optimised to offer the best air flow
and applied to the vehicle as a whole. In the case of the new CLA, for
example, special comb-shaped spoilers in the wheel arches subdue the
air flows around the wheels. Every reduction of one thousandth in wind
resistance pays: with a higher speed and lower fuel consumption. Even
a 0.01 reduction in wind resistance represents a saving of 0.1 litres per
100 kilometres. Or, to put it another way: 230,000 hours in the virtual
wind tunnel and plenty of painstaking work have made the new CLA the
world champion in the field of aerodynamic efficiency.