Fast cars have rear spoilers to help turn airflow into traction. Faster cars have spoilers that only appear when you need them, to minimize drag. The fastest cars have spoilers that are dynamically adjustable, giving you the ideal compromise between traction and drag. The Flake Project is a car with an entire skin made of independently adjustable microspoilers.

Each microspoiler, or "flake," is made of carbon fiber, and can go from perfectly flat and streamlined to standing up nearly vertically. So if you want to go fast, all the flakes lie flat, but when you turn, all the flakes on one side of the car will stand up, helping lock the car down to the road. The Project Flake car also has what the designer calls D-Wheels, which are made out of twelve independently extendable leg-things, allowing for an adjustable contact surface, like the spoke wheels in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.

This car is about as concept-y as concept cars can possibly get, and the designer himself says, "I know this car is ridiculous, and I know it wont work, but it was never intended to be a practical solution but rather an inspiration for others." No worries mate, we won't hold it against you. There's lots more pics in the gallery, and you can check out all those little flakes in action in the video below.

Project Flake, via Wired