Central Valley Corvettes of Fresno - March 2020

A wing like no other
A close look at the tall black wing rising above Blackjack’s tailgate reveals that it’s
upside down, the exact opposite of the profile you see on race cars. While most
automotive wings generate aerodynamic downforce — air pressure that pushes the
vehicle down so it doesn’t leave the ground at high speed — Blackjack’s wing actually
creates aerodynamic lift, like a plane’s wing.
That’s because wind tunnel tests showed Blackjack’s cobbled together body had
aerodynamic lift at the nose. That’d be unacceptable in a production car, but since
Blackjack’s body would never be built, the only thing that mattered was that its
aerodynamic profile be equal front and rear. Creating downforce would be the
production body’s job.
In addition, the two stanchions supporting the wing double as air intakes to cool the
engine mounted under what appeared to be a tonneau cover on the pickup bed.
The C8’s performance targets — speed, aerodynamics, braking, fuel efficiency, etc.
—were set during hundreds of thousands of computer tests before Blackjack was built.