Curves of steel: Sleek, slick and aerodynamic

Phoenix Art Museum's exhibit explores the influence of streamlining and aerodynamics on car design throughout the 20th century. Exhibit to run April 1 to June 3, 2007.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
1986 Oldsmobile Aerotech
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1986 Oldsmobile Aerotech
The Oldsmobile Aerotech's 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine produced an astonishing 800 horsepower. In 1987, race driver A.J Foyt set two separate land speed records in two different versions of the Aerotech.

Built on a modified GM Indy Car chassis, the Aerotech was designed by Ed Welburn, now GM's global head of design. The Aerotech is less than 2 feet tall and rides less than an inch from the ground. The car's underbody includes a tunnel carved out to provide added downforce. Underbody sections can be adjusted to tweak the amount and placement of downforce.

GM produced three Aerotechs to prove the capabilities of the company's Quad4 engine. Two were short-tailed (ST) versions and one was long-tailed (LT), the one shown here.


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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2013 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2013. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2013 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .