flyinghigh wrote:In terms of aerodynamics. If the side pod continued right up to the wheel (theoretically; disregarding things like brakes) would the drag be reduced/increased significantly?
No, the drag would be increased dramatically because than rear end wouldn't have coke bottle shape and you'd get massive turbulence/drag as the result of bulky rather than pointy rear end.
Same thing as when you compare sedan and hatchback version of some passenger car model. Hatchback generates much more drag than sedan.