Aerodynamics: From Art to Science

A new exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum will appeal to both the automotive enthusiast as well as those who love avant-garde design. Aerodynamics: From Art to Science opened June 16, 2012, and will run through May 27, 2013 in the museum’s Gordon R. Howard Gallery.

During more than a century of innovation, automobile manufacturers have dreamed up some unusual body designs.  From strange to stunning, the large majority of them were created in an effort to increase driving performance by reducing wind resistance.  When a network of high-speed motorways began to blanket the world, the need for genuine advances became ever more important and scientific experimentation yielded vehicle shapes that were becoming increasingly sophisticated.