BMW G87 M2 PREPREG RACE CANARDS

Aero over aesthetic. Function over form. Purpose over compromise.

 

What is ARD?

ARD (ADRO Racing Division) is ADRO's motorsport engineering program, built for drivers who demand more from their car on track. Every ARD component is developed the same way motorsport aerodynamics are: CFD simulation and track tested before anything reaches a customer. Scott, ADRO's Head of Aerodynamics, brings an F1 development background to every ARD project. The G87 M2 ARD Aero Package is one of the first full systems to come out of that program.

 

The Quad Canards

Canards are one of the most visually recognizable elements in motorsport aero. They are also one of the most misused. On most aftermarket kits, they are aesthetic additions that generate marginal front downforce and little else. The ARD quad canards are developed to do something more specific: manage the vortices initiated by the front splitter assembly and direct airflow around the front wheels.

How It Works

The front wheels are one of the largest sources of aerodynamic drag and turbulence on a road car. As they rotate, they throw air outward and upward, disrupting the clean flow that the splitter and undervanes depend on. The canards work to contain and redirect that disruption.

 

Each canard generates a vortex off its outer edge. Positioned in a quad configuration, those vortices are stacked and sequenced to build in strength as they travel rearward, creating a curtain of managed airflow between the front splitter endplates and the front wheel arches. This reduces the amount of turbulent, high-pressure air spilling inboard from the rotating wheel, which in turn keeps the underbody flow cleaner and the undervanes working at higher efficiency.

 

As part of the complete ARD Aero Package, the system generates 2555N (574 lbs) of downforce at 180 km/h, a 1254% increase over the M2's stock 189N, with a gain of +2366N (532 lbs).

 

Material

ARD components are produced in prepreg carbon fiber. Prepreg uses resin pre-impregnated into the fiber under controlled conditions, meaning resin distribution is precise and consistent throughout the part. The result is a lighter, stiffer component with no soft spots or resin-rich areas that can delaminate under load.

 

For canards specifically, stiffness is critical. A canard that flexes under aerodynamic load changes its angle of attack, which changes the vortex it produces and degrades the airflow management it was designed to deliver. Prepreg holds geometry under sustained load, so the canard behaves at lap 20 the same way it did at lap one.