The 21-inch forged aluminium wheel in a five-spoke design is equipped with five movable elements. When closely positioned, these blades seal the wheel flush, thereby reducing air resistance. This improves range and reduces energy consumption.
A control unit located in the vehicle monitors and controls, among other things, the function of the brake system. It detects the need for increased brake cooling. When it sends a signal to the actuators, they deploy and actively open the blades, which opens an annulus on the outer wheel rim. Supported by the radial louvres on the inner side of the aero-blades, cooling air is pumped through the wheel to the brake and back out again. Increasing the air-mass flow in this way achieves not only significantly more efficient brake cooling. The active removal of air from the wheel arch, which interacts aerodynamically with the underbody, has a positive influence on the vehicle’s aerodynamic downforce.
Hidden in the hub of each wheel is a central actuator that is straightforward to install and remove. It is this actuator that moves the aero-blades. The trick here is that each actuator is an autonomous unit that uses the spinning wheel to produce its own electrical energy via a mini-generator. The actuator uses Bluetooth to communicate wirelessly with the control unit in the vehicle. Paired with an integrated high performance battery, it can generate and store enough energy for up to 200 blade movements, thus ensuring safe brake cooling at all times.
