That wing (while admittedly functional), can't be hidden, but the black cut outs are nicely disguised by the paint.
i doubt that wing is functional at all.
The wing is indeed functional.
the purpose of a wing is to provide downforce to the rear axle to aid in traction as race cars have a ton of power...while this car has a decent amount of power put to the axles, it's FWD and the weight of the engine and front end components likely aid in that already...as well, the limited amount of angle and small surface area of the wing would provide a minimal amount of downforce, and likely only at speeds no one would likely be driving at (on a public road)...my bet is they could have achieved the same amount of performance from a trunk lid integrated spoiler, but then that doesn't fit with the whole "F&F" look.
How do you feel about the vortex generator nubs on the roof? Did the Honda engineers put those there for F&F looks too?
it's all nonsense...nothing more than the marketing department fluffing up the car with extra bits to jack the price up...any of these items likely have a purpose, but that purpose is really only going to be used on a track, and at speeds that are likely in the 8/10s of the capability of the car...also, when tracking a car, it's the sum of all parts that is important, not one or two pieces of body kit...the rear spoiler likely doesn't provide much if any lift below 120 mph, and i'd guess the car doesn't go too much above that speed anyway (maybe 160?)...as well, they better make sure the front end spoiler provides downforce, because the last thing you want is to push the rear end down as that will exaggerate the front end...you need to push both ends down fairly evenly to ensure proper airflow...then there's the suspension, brakes, rims/tires, alignment, cooling etc...so many things that are important.
Did you not read the article? The car is a beast on the track. All the aero (front and back) provide actual down force, not just anti-lift like so many other aero bits in other cars. The whole car was tuned as a complete package with the aero, suspension, brakes, etc. etc. I think they did a great job for the purpose it was designed for. The only questionable styling bits are the huge non-functional honeycomb grills in the back, but they're in the base car so not really added in the Type R.
Whether or not actual buyers take advantage of this car's prowess at the track is irrelevant. Honda set out to create a track beast and they succeeded. How many ZR1 buyers are actually gonna take their car out to the track to exploit their full potential?
Obviously this car is not for you, and that's fine. But to you, and anyone else who thinks that anyone over 30 shouldn't be buying or driving this car, get over it. I would not be embarrassed to drive this car at all. I've seen a couple on the road and to me they look great. I'm turning 40 in less than a month and if I didn't already have my STI, would be seriously looking at this car. Could give two shits what other people think.
