Continue reading ‘Audi: Next-Generation A4, Q7: Aluminum-Intensive’
The idea foundry – the Audi Lightweight Design Center
To expand your lead, you have to continuously come up with new solutions. With this in mind, Audi established its own Aluminum Center for Development, Production Planning and Quality Assurance at the Neckarsulm site in 1994. The facility was renamed the Aluminum and Lightweight Design Center (ALDC) in 2003. Since 2009, it has gone by the name Audi Lightweight Design Center, retaining the same abbreviation.
The ALDC is an idea foundry for the company, its spearhead in the field of lightweight construction. The roughly 180 specialists in Neckarsulm investigate all of the key topics of the future – materials and their alloys, machining and shaping technologies, methods and processes. The ALDC lays down the foundation for the bodies of the future and also for the methods required for their production.
Continue reading ‘Part 4: Audi TechDay: Lightweight Design: its use in the future’
Inspired by nature – the ASF bodies
Audi has a tremendous source of inspiration for lightweight construction: nature. Nature wastes nothing, using only as much material as needed in exactly the right place to achieve the best result. Audi follows bionic principles in many areas of ASF technology, both on individual parts and on the overall design of the body.
Aluminum is an excellent material for vehicle bodies. With its low density of 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter (0.098 lb per cu in), it is roughly two-thirds lighter than conventional grades of steel, and since it is a relatively soft metal, it is easy to machine. Alloys, the most important components of which are magnesium and silicon, provide the high strength necessary for vehicle bodies.
Continue reading ‘Part 3: Audi TechDay: Lightweight Design: its use in production’
Lightweight construction with continuity: Audi milestones
Lightweight construction has long been a driving force at Audi. Development work on the ASF body began back in the early 1980s. Audi has been building cars with aluminum bodies since 1994 – with a high degree of continuity, in contrast to its competitors.
Audi Sport quattro (1984)
The Sport quattro is a brand icon. Beginning in 1984, Audi built 214 units by hand in order to homologize its new competition car for the Rally World Championship. The five-cylinder turbo, which displaced just 2.1 liters, produced 225 kW (306 hp) in the street version, making it one of a small group of extreme sports cars at the time.
The Sport quattro had a wheelbase that was 32 centimeters (1.05 ft) shorter than that of the model on which it was based, the Ur-quattro (original quattro). 4.16 meters (13.65 ft) long, it weighed just 1,300 kilograms (2,866.01 lb) thanks to extreme lightweight construction. Only the bodyshell and the doors of the “Shorty,” the latter taken from the Audi 80, were made of steel sheet. The rear hatch was made of a polyester material.
Continue reading ‘Part 2: Audi TechDay: Lightweight Design: Milestones – historic and current models’
Vorsprung Durch Technik — It’s the heart and soul of Audi design. This is part one of a four part brief composed by Audi. It documents their progressive work using weight saving technologies to build a better automotive future. Audi continues to make strides in the use of aluminum in all of their past, present and future designs. The extensive use of aluminum will allow for strong, lighter and more fuel efficient vehicles. It’s not a new thing for Audi and theses briefs provide the history and details to prove it. — Ed.
Lightweight construction has long been a top priority at Audi; it is one of the pillars of the brand. As the pioneer of the self-supporting aluminum body, Audi is the worldwide leader in the field of lightweight construction. Future innovations will ensure that the brand can continue to reverse the weight spiral. Each new Audi model will be lighter than the one it replaces.
Continue reading ‘Part 1: Audi TechDay: Lightweight Design – A core competence of Audi’
