After years of being relegated to the category of a cheap and undesirable modification in the tuning scene, big rear wings have made a comeback.
After the original Fast & Furious movie was released in 2001 (and probably a little before) wings were a staple of modified vehicles. It was an inexpensive modification that a person could install in their own garage with little technical expertise and it transformed the look of the vehicle entirely.
As the years went on and the scene evolved away from cheap modifications, wings fell by the wayside. There was a clear trend toward a cleaner look with higher end parts that didn’t include wings at all. This trend held up for a quite a while and remains popular even today.
Count me among those who didn’t expect was to see a return of the wing. In 2015 we started seeing many vehicles bucking the “no wing” trend and in 2016 we had a full on return only this time it was a little different: the wings were BIG!
The new style seems to be one of “zero f**ks given” and having the biggest, highest wing possible. The rebel attitude has hit the car scene with force and more and more show competitors are considering this a must-have modification.
Wings (or spoilers) on actual race cars are functional by deflecting air upward, thereby providing downforce on the vehicle. Wings on street cars can be functional as well but usually only at high speeds. Wings can also provide better fuel economy by improving the air flow over a vehicle. There is significant engineering required in order to do so meaning you can’t just slap any wing on your vehicle and expect to see a difference at the gas pump. Most aftermarket wings will probably have the opposite effect. The fact remains that the vast majority of wings on street cars are only aesthetic modifications.
The trend is sure to upset many automotive enthusiasts but the folks upset by this are probably the same ones who have looked down on the car show scene for years. They take to message boards (like MontrealRacing) to voice their dislike of aesthetic modifications but this only fuels the passion of the show cars owners even more.
Look for this trend to continue in 2017!
