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Although Audi's first all-aluminium bodied spaceframe vehicle was on the market in 1994, the group says it has set new standards with its latest "third generation A8", which weighs only 1,780kg and will be available in May at a UK entry price of L51,050.
Engineers used the group's established Audi spaceframe (ASF) technology to construct the body - a self-supporting structure without any external cladding or panels. In place of the usual square-or-round-section tubing used in steel spaceframes are aluminium extrusions and castings.
Audi first experimented with an aluminium frame by using it in place of steel in a monocoque shell in 1985. After routine tests to assess that design's fatigue, crash and acoustic performance, Audi says it then decided to use a different concept to make the best use of the advantages of aluminium, which resulted in the development of the spaceframe.
The new A8 spaceframe weighs just 218kg and Audi claims this is 200kg or 40% lighter than a steel body shell of the same type. The latest A8 has an enhanced frame stiffness of 60% compared with the previous A8 design and its wheelbase, extended by 130mm to 3,074mm, only adds 8kg to the body weight.
Total aluminium content, including the engine, is 589kg. Including all closures, the shell weighs approximately 286kg, 43% of which is...