Wham, bam, active air dam

Röchling Automotive’s Active Air Dam extends down (top image) below the front grille once the vehicle hits 43 mph as a way of making air flow more efficiently along the lower side of the vehicle front. Röchling officials say there’s an improvement of about 3.8% in vehicle drag with the dams extended. They retract at low speeds to avoid damage from rough roads. A view behind the dam (bottom) reveals the mechanism driving the dams which is based on brushless dc motor technology and sits on one side.
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