GM Receives a New Patent for Advanced Active Aerodynamics

A new GM patent that may be headed to the C8 Corvette was revealed this week thanks to our friend Jeremy Welborn and the MidEngineCorvetteForum.com. The patent is called “Vehicle Ride-Height Dependent Control of Air Deflector” and the drawings contained within the patent publication show the technology as deployed on a C7 Corvette.

The patent’s abstract and summary describes a moveable air deflector mounted to the front of the car. Sensors communicate to a controller that can selectively vary the height of the deflector relative to the vehicle’s body and the ground to control the airflow around the car.

The system also looks at the speed of the vehicle and reviews the ride-height of the vehicle in relation to the ground. The controller may be configured to look up a set a pre-determined data of the vehicle depending on those variables compared with the target height of the air deflector and then change the vehicle’s ride-height for optimal performance.

The new patent is one of nearly 20 that features new technologies that may be headed for future Corvette models. Of course, there’s no guarantee that this system will make it to production. For the most part, the comments on forums about these new patents are positive, but many are worried that these systems are tacking on more weight and making the car more complex than needed.

You can download the full document for the Vehicle Ride-Height Dependent Control of Air Deflector patent here.

Source:
USPTO and MidEngineCorvetteForum.com

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