This GM wind tunnel, put into service in 1980, operates 24 hours a day to help designers and engineers achieve the lowest coefficients of drag on their vehicles. The fan’s six 13-meter blades of laminated Sitka spruce, driven by a 3350-kilowatt dc motor in the nacelle, create winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour.


For more on electric vehicles, see EV ROUNDUP: ELECTRIC VEHICLES MOVE FORWARD...SLOWLY