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January 20, 2022 09:24 AM

The hood scoop will fade away in the EV era

The hood scoop, that classic American design cue, will go the way of chrome bumpers and tail fins in the EV era.

Richard Truett
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    1970_AMC_AMX-MAIN_i.jpg

    1970 AMC AMX

    The hood scoop, a key piece of automotive design for the last 70 or so years, does more than just look cool. It helps performance cars, from Subaru WRXs to Ram TRXs, go faster and run cooler.

    But in the age of electric vehicles, the popular appendage is headed for the automotive design history book.

    It's not that car buyers are tired of hood scoops, which over the years have risen to iconic status on some vehicles — such as the Pontiac GTO and Trans Am, many Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars and even some Ferraris.

    The history of the hood scoop can be viewed in three eras:

    • Late 1940s to mid-'60s, when the stylized slits, slots, vents and flaps on the hood were used to channel cool air into the engine bay.
    • Late '60s to the early '90s saw many hood scoops feeding air directly into the engine via the carburetor or the fuel injection system. Some were nonfunctional design elements.
    • Mid-'90s to present, hood scoops are used to help turbocharged vehicles deliver more power by routing air to the turbo's intercooler, which helps create cooler, denser air for more power.

    The heyday of the hood scoop is ending because the aerodynamic drag it creates reduces the distance an EV can drive between charges. Every inch of range matters to automakers battling to sell EVs.

    Here's a look at some of classic hood scoops of the internal combustion era.

    1950s

    1953 Nash-Healey

    1956 Ford Thunderbird

    1960s

    1964 Plymouth Belvedere

    1968 Pontiac GTO

    1970s

    1971 Rover 3500 S

    1972 Chevrolet Chevette SS (cowl induction hood)

    1980s

    1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

    1986 Ford Mustang SVO

    1990s

    1997 Dodge Viper GTS

    1999 Subaru Impreza WRX

    2000s

    2004 Ford Mustang Mach 1

    2006 Pontiac GTO

    2010s

    2014 Dodge Challenger

    2018 Toyota Tacoma TRD V-6

    2020s

    2021 Ram TRX

    2022 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2

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