New Porsche Exhaust Muffler Will Work As A Diffuser

保时捷filed to protect a novel new idea that would see the exhaust muffler of a car like thePorsche 911double as an aerodynamically-effective rear diffuser. The patent was discovered byCarBuzzat theGerman Patent and Trade Mark Office, and it appears to be simple enough to enter production as soon as the required tooling is produced.

Specifically, the invention is described as a "rear silencer in an exhaust system, the underside of which is aerodynamically shaped and can be equipped with air-guiding elements."

As explained byScienceDirectin a journal on the matter, we know that the placement of an exhaust exit can affect the aerodynamic properties of a car thanks to where that hot air is expelled in the car's wake, but this has relatively minor effects. An aerodynamically sculpted underbody, however, always provides meaningful benefits.

Simply put, the Porsche-designed muffler would feature depressions or elevations intended to channel the airflow in the underbody area of the car towards the rear in a streamlined fashion. As we alluded to above, this design would find the greatest benefits if implemented in conjunction with a flat underbody.

Ideally, the muffler should extend across the entire width of the vehicle and would be relatively long too, but the space savings possible by making the muffler flatter are specifically noted as a motivating potential advantage. Of course, Porsche could also rework the idea to apply it to two silencers/mufflers with channels between them. Various shapes for the air guide channels are proposed, including a V-shape, a U-shape, and a T-shape.