What Are Your Favorite Slots, Strakes, Scoops, And Intakes?

I’m not an EV hater by any stretch, though I readily acknowledge that the lack of exhaust sound and engine rumble are big bummers for battery power (and no, I will not be satisfied by imitations of those things, because the concept is patently silly – sorry, Dodge). Also missing from the electric equation is any real need for prominent air intakes, as there’s no heavy-breathing engine to account for, and that’s another big bummer for me.

I do love a nice intake, be it a scoop, slot, NACA duct, or some other wind-admitting opening. I don’t even find phony ones objectionable so long as they’re on a fuel-burning car, because the spirit of the need is there so long as there’s some kind of engine under the hood. Outside of a joke installation, I cannot abide the idea of prominent fake scoops on a car with no need to consume airflow in order to produce power. (Though I could get behind an EV with a giant drag-style hood scoop feeding air directly into the dash vents for a proper windows-down blasting with no need to lower the glass).

So let’s celebrate our favorite air-grabbers, shall we?

Though much maligned, I’m strangely attracted to the stacked nostrils of the Trans Am WS6. They’re outlandish, which is to say “they’re Pontiac,” and the tall hood tunnels they feed suggest a tumescence befitting this most phallic of F-bodies. So yeah, I’m into this bonermobile, what about it? Own it, I say.

Could any discussion of scoops and strakes not include the F12 Testarossas? Those magnificent egg slicers transform each side of the car into a massive air-delivery device for the V12 behind the seats and positively scream out engine in the back – ain’t nobody mistaking those for brake coolers.

I know, I know, I’m supposed to hate this “Countach,” but I like it. Those big side triangles do it for me. See you in the comments!

You like pop-up headlights? How about a pop-up air scoop?

Plymouth’s optional Air Grabber hood scoop deployed on command via a dash-mounted lever that, depending on the year and model, yanked the scoop open via a cable or used engine vacuum to do the trick. Imagine lining up against a guy at a red light in your Roadrunner, and as you’re revving your steeds, he sees your hood scoop lift out of the sheetmetal. That’s gotta be a potent psyche-out.

Your turn: What Are Your Favorite Slots, Strakes, Scoops, And Intakes?

Top graphic image: depositphotos.com