“Fat men cannot run as fast as thin men, but we build most of our vehicles as though deadweight fat increased speed…. I cannot imagine where the delusion that weight means strength came from….” - Henry Ford
Weight reduction is obviously not a new ambition for the automotive sector, but it is gaining more and more importance due to the collective environmental conscience, the upcoming fuel production decline and the stringent regulations the industry is and will face.
The Conference “Innovative Developments for Lightweight Vehicle Structures” covered different aspects of lightweight, multimaterial vehicles, from concept design and optimisation to forming and joining technologies, life-cycle assessment and recyclability. Further developments, research requirements and challenges were also presented and discussed.
The Conference covered the main achievements of SuperLIGHT-CAR, a joint project together with 37 leading European organisations, all having contributed to the development of lightweight multimaterial car body structures. One of the Highlights of the Conference was be the premiere of the complete SuperLIGHT-CAR prototype Body-in-white structure.