Spoiler alert: The greatest wings of all time

Big wings were the preserve of pure racing cars in the 1960s, but they became much more common with the dawn of the following decade. This led to some amazing road cars with huge wings to make them legal for certain motorsport classes, and from there these aerodynamic aids just got bigger and wilder... Here’s our choice of the best and biggest.

BMW 3.0 CSL

Batmobile - Credit - BMW AG

BMW created the 3.0 CSL simply to homologate changes to make its racing cars better and meet the rules for the European Touring Car Championship. This resulted in the ‘Batmobile’, which earned its name from the wing and fins that gave the car extra downforce and stability at high speed on the race track.

As part of the leicht design that gave this car the ‘L’ in its name, the rear boot was made of aluminium. However, BMW had to revert to steel for the boot as the new rear wing proved so effective at pushing the car into the road that it warped the alloy panel. BMW also had to stash the wing in the boot of roadgoing CSLs sold in Germany because it was not legal to sell the car with it fitted. This didn’t stop owners from promptly reattaching it themselves...

Earlier CSLs came with just the outer supports for the rear wing, but later cars had an extra central support to prevent the wing from distorting at high speeds due to the forces it could produce.

Dodge Viper ACR

Viper - Credit - Kuhmo Tire Company

Dodge’s Viper ACR took its name from American Club Racing, where this be-winged behemoth was intended to be used. The road cars were there simply to qualify the Viper for racing in the GT category, which it did to very good effect.

First introduced in 1999, the ACR model was a package of upgrades to the V10-powered Viper that included BBS alloy wheels and firmer adjustable suspension. The big clue, however, was that wing, which sprouted from the rear deck right into the air flow to give as much downforce as possible for rear end grip. At 155mph, the wing effectively gave an impressive 455kg of additional weight on the back tyres.

The ACR’s rear wing was made from carbon fibre, again with racing in mind to keep the weight down. It was complemented by a front splitter to further help the aero efficiency of the Dodge. And the cost of all this? In 1999, adding the ACR pack to your new Viper would have cost $10,000 (£6200).

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

RS500 - Credit - Silverstone Classic

Ford already had form with big wings on its Sierra. There was the XR4i that arrived in 1983 with its distinctive double deck spoiler. Then Ford gave the world the hooligan Sierra RS Cosworth that debuted the ‘Cossie’ trademark whale tail design to keep it glued to the tarmac on the road and race circuit.

In August 1987, Ford gave the world the ultimate Sierra Cosworth, and part of its identity was a new smaller lower spoiler, with the car’s separate bigger and shape-defining wing supported by a central strut. To gain more downforce for motorsport use, Ford equipped 500 uprated RS models with an extra black plastic section grafted on to widen and extend the wing’s surface. It became an instant way of distinguishing this new 224bhp model from the mere standard 204bhp Cosworth.

Amazingly, Ford’s senior bosses were not sure about the look of the RS500’s wings, but engineering and motorsport voices won out and the design became the car’s trademark.

Lamborghini Countach

Countach - Credit - Brian Snelson (via Flickr)

Lamborghini wasn’t involved with motorsport, so it was relatively late to the big wing party. However, when the Countach signed up for a rear wing, it was bound to be as outrageous as the rest of the car. Inspired by the one-off wing created for Formula 1 team boss Walter Wolf, the production version was offered from 1978 onwards on the LP400S model and every subsequent Countach as an option.

For those owners who chose a wing for their Countach, there was still the choice of removing it if they decided on a change of looks. Just a few screws hold it in place, so removing the wing is quick and simple, and the wingless shape is much closer to the original early version.

Most new customers for the Countach didn’t give a stuff about purity of line, though, and it was all about drama. No car did it better than the Lamborghini in its 1980s heyday, which made it one of the poster cars of the era alongside the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 911 Turbo.

However, the Countach’s wing was just all show. It was never properly tested in a wind tunnel before it was offered to buyers, and when it was fitted it caused aerodynamic drag that knocked 10mph off the wingless car’s full chat of 183mph.

Plymouth Superbird

The Plymouth Superbird had a meep-meep horn sound to mimic the Road Runner character from the Looney Tunes animations. This was particularly apt for a car with such cartoonish looks thanks to its flattened nose and towering rear wing, both designed to improved high speed performance. That pace was important because the Superbird was Plymouth’s entry in the 1970 season of NASCAR racing, which helped sell a lot of cars on Monday morning if you’d won on Sunday.

Hard as it seems to imagine now, the Superbird proved to be a difficult sell to the public and many sat unsold for a long time or were even converted back to a less extreme specification. In the end, Plymouth shifted 1,920 Superbirds.

The lofty height of the wing was determined by lifting its horizontal surface into clean air to make it as effective as possible. This meant getting it above the roof line of the car, so the tall side spars were the result of this and gave the Superbird one of its key styling cues.

Have we missed out your favourite? Let us know your nomination for ‘best wing ever’ in the comments below…