More Audi Models To Benefit From Aluminium Construction

Audi is planning to employ lightweight hybrid aluminium construction on future models from A4 upwards, starting with the new, third-generation A8 which will be unveiled later this year, an Audi source confirmed with Autocar. Only A3 and the upcoming A1 would be using the conventional steel monocoque chassis. The growing emphasis on saving fuel and the planet meant that legislators are imposing tougher, stricter standards when it comes to fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, both of which are highly dependent on weight count, making weight saving the new challenge for all automakers.

The soon-to-launch A8 uses large aluminium castings for key areas—including the front and rear chassis legs, the front section of the transmission tunnel, the base of the A-pillar and the front suspension mounts—that can also underpin other Audi models lower down the range. Parts of the car like the roof structure, sills and floor sections are constructed from highly malleable aluminium extrusions. As part of the hybrid construction method, the B-pillars are made from steel, while the bonnet and boot lid will be using carbon reinforced plastics, for example.

AboutSeow Yaohan

Seow Yao Han strives to bring you the latest and the most comprehensive information on cars available in Malaysia. But it's never easy for him to talk and write cars in this part of the world because what you lust after is often not what you drive home. When the euphoria of test-driving that branded, super-expensive sports car dies down, he just goes home in his less-than-glamorous ride.

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