Dodge Dakota Is Nearly as Aerodynamic as a Lamborghini Countach

Engineers behind the Dodge Dakota may have optimized its aerodynamic performance more than most people would assume.

We definitely understand why you might hesitate to believe that headline. How could the lowly Dodge Dakota be as slippery in the air than the legendary poster car that is the Lamborghini Countach? Well, as it turns out, the Countach itself was not all that aerodynamic. The list of vehicles more aerodynamically efficient than a Countach is quite surprising, but that’s a discussion for another day. What we’re focusing on here is that the Dakota is a bit more aerodynamic than one might assume.

A YouTube channel called Premiere Aerodynamics recently posted a video wherein a model of a second-generation Dodge Dakota is analyzed with OpenFOAM. For those unaware, OpenFOAM is a free open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Effectively, this software models aerodynamics like you’d see in a real-world fluid tunnel without, you know, needing a fluid tunnel. The point of the video is insight on how to improve the aerodynamics of a pickup truck as a whole. However, it reveals that the Dakota has a coefficient of drag (CD) of 0.44. The aforementioned Countach has a CD of 0.42. That’s pretty dang close!

It’s Still Not Really That Efficient

The host of the video highlights things that work for and against the Dakota in terms of its aerodynamics. For example, the channel celebrates the Dakota’s flat roof and rounded front bumper as being great designs for aerodynamics. Though, as one might expect, the low-pressure zone created by the truck’s bed gets some points taken off. The whole video is quite interesting, and the host does a phenomenal job explaining how and why things work the way that they do.

“Dodge did a good job with the roof line. It almost gets the flow angle perfect, but it’s just a little short,” said the channel host.

“Some air crashes into the front and decelerates. That causes high pressure, but some goes into the engine bay, and the top and bottom of the front are rounded quite nicely. So, the air can travel over them without a problem. In fact, in that respect, the Dodge is better than a lot of cars here because of just how rounded it is,” said the host.

Ultimately, nobody is really looking to the Dodge Dakota or any pickup truck to be the poster child of aerodynamic perfection. It is a bit surprising how decent the Dakota wound up being, though. Especially considering the only reason it’s in this video is that a viewer submitted their own vehicle in a request for testing. If you want to check out some of the effects of things like tunneau covers and camping shells firsthand, be sure to watch the video below!

Braden Carlson

Braden Carlson is an automotive enthusiast from Boise, Idaho. At 19 he quit his day job to pursue a career in automotive journalism, launching his Youtube channel in his own name. Today you can still find him producing DIY video content, reviews and writing for an amassment of automotive websites. His work is most frequently found on Rennlist, The Mustang Source and Corvette Forum. When not writing or driving, he's likely to be found covered in grease and oil undoubtedly from one of his gratuitous collection of questionable project cars.