COP Outcome development and evaluation

The team was rewarded for their hard work and creativity with a car that was fantastically fast, particularly in a straight line. It had, however, a tendency to destroy its rear tyres in the course of a race, making life difficult for its pilot. Mr Addis's response was to tear off into a dramatic early lead and hope his rivals would run out of laps before reducing the deficit – not the ideal solution.

The team replaced the five-litre V8 with a six-litre unit. Theoretically, a larger engine requires fewer revs to produce the same horse power as a smaller one, thus incurring less likelihood of wheel spin; and it helped to some extent, once the throttle pedal's travel was lengthened.

More weight was moved to the rear, and the front ride height raised in an attempt to get more weight over the rear tyres under acceleration. A deeper front spoiler replaced the front airdam previously fitted, protruding much further from the front of the car in a gentle slope. It still provided excellent frontal downforce, but allowed the front of the car to move more cleanly through the air. Aluminium side skirts were fitted beneath the doors, also in an attempt to prevent air getting beneath the car, increasing its stability through high-speed corners.

Finally, the team mounted a large rear wing 400mm above the boot lid. This would improve rear downforce, pressing the car into the ground at high speed, and increasing rear grip. The wing was in principle an inverted aeroplane wing. Whereas the latter is designed to keep the plane in the air, the Charger's rear wing was designed to keep the car on the ground; wings of both kinds are more effective the faster the vehicle is travelling.

The wing had to be shaped so that air flowed faster over its underside than its top, pulling and pushing it towards the ground simultaneously. If the design is correct, the air should flow cleanly off the back of the wing, preventing buffeting. The wing also needed to be mounted high enough off the boot lid to avoid the messy air that flowed down the back window and over the lid. With a clean flow of air over and under it, it would press the rear of the vehicle to the ground, improving handling and reducing tyre wear, while slowing the vehicle as little as possible in a straight line.