Active Aerodynamics - you read it here first...

Here’s a tip for the next big thing in motoring – active aerodynamics. I’m sure you’ve seen Porsche 911s and Bentley Continental GTs with pop-up rear spoilers to improve downforce at speed. This is the same idea; bits of bodywork automatically moving as the car travels, improving the way it cuts through the air so reducing fuel use and emissions. Vauxhall is to unveil the Flextreme GT/E concept (above), at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, and bosses say the car “explores the potential for active shape-shifting”. At speeds above 30mph a vertical panel at each rear corner – Vauxhall engineers have called them aeroblades – moves to guide air flow and reduce turbulence. You can see them in the lower picture. With a battery-powered driving range of up to 40 miles and a total range of more than 300 miles, this type of hybrid can post figures of 175mpg and sub-40g/km of CO₂. Vauxhall’s first car to feature this technology is the Ampera and is due on sale in 2012.