Audi Takes Inventor Of The Year Award For Use Of Space Frame Technology

The European Patent Office has named AUDI AG European Inventor of the Year. The honor is bestowed on companies whose ideas have made significant contributions to Europe's economic growth and competitiveness. Audi was recognized for the invention of Audi Space Frame technology (ASF).

Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission, honored the winners. "The European Inventors of the Year 2008 have developed true innovations." The award, which has now been presented for the third time, is intended to promote Europe's image as the "Continent of Innovations."

"The award is a testament to our lead in lightweight aluminum design technology, an area that is so important for the automobile industry," says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. Competing in the "Industry" category, the ASF technology of the brand with the four rings was named the winner over competitors' patents.

Heinrich Timm, Head of the Aluminum and Lightweight Design Center at Audi, and Norbert Enning, co-inventor of the ASF concept, accepted the Inventor of the Year award in Ljubljana. "With Audi Space Frame technology, Audi opened up a new dimension in lightweight automotive design," says Timm. The Audi Space Frame results in a car body that is not only stronger and safer than a steel body, but also significantly lighter. "This is a central aspect for reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions," says Enning.

Audi Space Frame – lightweight aluminum design with decisive advantages

The Audi Space Frame was first presented to the world public at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in 1993 as the body of an Audi A8. The ASF is a high-strength aluminum frame structure into which the panels are integrated so that they also perform a load-bearing function. The Audi Space Frame comprises a complex structure of extruded profiles and cast nodes. Together these result in a car body with very high stiffness and a vehicle offering above-average crash protection. The ASF design enables significant weight savings, improved handling and lower fuel consumption. The Audi A8, the Audi TT Coupé, the TT Roadster, the Audi R8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo are all equipped with Audi Space Frame technology.

Norbert Enning – co-inventor of the Audi Space Frame

Norbert Enning, 51, is one of Audi's most inventive employees. Enning and his team developed ASF technology under the leadership of Heinrich Timm in the early 80s. "The body of the Audi A8 utilizing the ASF principle is one of the lightest in the luxury class," says Enning. Since joining Audi in 1982, the graduate mechanical engineer has made inventions in the areas of pedestrian protection and interior appointments in addition to his numerous inventions relating to the ASF design. Enning is currently engaged in the predevelopment of vehicle concepts.

Agent63 - 5/15/2008 12:53:46 PM

+8 Boost

This is why I think Audi is up there with the best automakers. They do more than the normal consumer knows & they get little credit. Under-rated ; Under-estimated

silver1 - 5/15/2008 12:56:36 PM

+4 Boost

I Agree. I believe Audi is very Under-rated.

rnsaza - 5/16/2008 2:02:26 AM

-1 Boost

BMW use AL Space Frame tech in it's Rolls-Royce cars.

silver1 - 5/16/2008 4:26:06 AM

+3 Boost

I would actually choose a Futuristic Looking Audi A8 over an Classy old man's Rolls Royce

silver1 - 5/15/2008 12:58:15 PM

+5 Boost

I knew it was something that I feel when I drive an Audi. It feels as if it was the most stiff car I have ever drove as if they had use about a 1 billion screws to put the car together...

This why is why I think that the Audi is "The Ultimate Driving Machine"

AlexTx - 5/15/2008 2:02:10 PM

+6 Boost

Yeah.. you are right...
Where is beemer with this technology???

S4cabriofoxone - 5/15/2008 1:35:26 PM

+4 Boost

Congrats to Audi, very well deserved.

silver1 - 5/17/2008 7:59:56 PM

+1 Boost

Why do you hate Lexus?

TimE - 5/15/2008 3:18:48 PM

-5 Boost

@AlexTx

BMW used "Alu Space Frame" on BMW Z8 years ago, and it is using it now on Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Heyhuub - 5/15/2008 5:02:44 PM

+6 Boost

Yeah, like Audi introduced it in 1992, almost a decade before the Z8 was released.

aarononymous - 5/15/2008 5:16:28 PM

+6 Boost

I don't think BMW wants you bringing up the Z8

S4cabriofoxone - 5/15/2008 8:14:05 PM

+2 Boost

And they really do a great job making the Phantom lighter. It's only heavier than a Range Rover.

Htay7500 - 5/15/2008 3:52:09 PM

+4 Boost

yea audi!

cdoke - 5/15/2008 4:05:56 PM

-2 Boost

I would never be-grudge Audi their success, but if they have selected this only due weight and CO2 reasons above, then I do not find their reasoning entirely compelling from and engineering perspective. From the perspective of economics and social development I have no points to argue.

Enning alluded to the interesting thing here: "The body of the Audi A8 utilizing the ASF principle is one of the lightest in the luxury class"

The lightest car in the A8s class is the XJ. In fact, the heaviest XJ weighs 288 lbs. less than the lightest A8. The reason for this is that unlike the aluminum space-frame technology used by Audi, Jaguar uses a more advanced aluminum monocoque system in which the body panels themselves are part of the frame and bear loads. This eliminates redundancies in the car, although it is costly because the design is now bound to the frame. So when the car is to be re-deigned they have to at least partially redesign the frame.

Heyhuub - 5/15/2008 5:04:33 PM

+2 Boost

You forget the fact that the Audi has AWD. The Jag does not.

cdoke - 5/15/2008 5:30:00 PM

-3 Boost

Yes, I know and I thought of that. But there is more going on with "the heaviest XJ weighs 288 lbs. less than the lightest A8" than meets the eye. The XJ is a LWB model the Audi is SWB.

Now, if you compare base, V8 SWB models, the XJ weighs 562.2 lbs. less than the Audi. From what I found earlier the Quattro system adds approximatly 300lbs. to a RWD system. Although none of the sources on that were very good.

cdoke - 5/15/2008 6:03:43 PM

-2 Boost

I have been looking for the actual frame weights, but that is complicated by teh fact that in order to be comparble the Audi weight must include some of its body panels.

There is a way though- in the 5 inch transition from SWB to LWB, the Audi adds 110.2 lbs in such transition while the Jaguar adds 52.9 lbs. This is a good comparison, although the Jaguar is almost 2 inches wider, and the Audi actually adds 5.1 inches.

S4cabriofoxone - 5/15/2008 8:15:14 PM

+2 Boost

Key words in that sentence were "one of." Calm down!

cdoke - 5/15/2008 8:19:58 PM

-2 Boost

Do not presume to know my mood. You know better that that S4.

autopro - 5/15/2008 4:46:38 PM

-1 Boost

Its all good until you crash it.Very few body shops can repair it.

Audi4Life - 5/15/2008 5:01:31 PM

+2 Boost

well just dnt crash, it is there to keep you safe and improve the car's characteristics...if someone gets in a serious crash with half of the front gone, who will actually get to repair their car? most will simply not do it because it too expensive or because it is unrepairable

autopro - 5/15/2008 5:25:12 PM

-1 Boost

It happens.I had an A8 and was rear ended,it took 4 months to get my car back.I'll never own another one.

S4cabriofoxone - 5/15/2008 8:16:46 PM

+1 Boost

Well that's a stupid decision.

And I simply don't believe you in that it took 4 months--I had a friend who had an A8 (lease was up last year, traded for an LS460), he dinged it up a few times, it never took more than a week or two.

AlexTx - 5/15/2008 8:28:19 PM

+1 Boost

Yeah for the fact absorbs kenetic energy a whole lot better than steel, I don't see why you would not want to own such a safe car.....

cdcoke: Not sure if the Jag frame is more advanced than the A8. The A8 is also all Laser welded.. that is really advanced.
Even the A8 SWB is significantly larger than the XJ, thus the extra weight.

cdoke - 5/15/2008 8:37:32 PM

-1 Boost

"Even the A8 SWB is significantly larger than the XJ, thus the extra weight."

Did you read my post? This is what you do, go look up the dimensions of the cars yourself (the two that matter for the LWB comparison are width and height- less so for the latter, it difficult to assess the where the frame acutally begins). I happen to already know what it says.

The XJ technology is more advanced in theory. As far as welding last I knew the XJ only even had a few welds on it (jagexpert knows the exact number) the rest is bonded and riveted like an airplane. When I talk about advanced I am not really talking of that, I am talking of the monocoque technology. Why is it more advanced? It has greater weight savings potential. Why is that? They have eliminated the systemic redundancy.

abcd - 5/16/2008 4:13:33 PM

0 Boost

cdoke:
what about 1990 honda nsx - it was also entirely from aluminium and i don`t know - had it frame or monocoque ?

autopro - 5/16/2008 7:11:53 PM

+2 Boost

I'm talking about a major crash not dings.Idon't give a rats ass if you believe me or not.I was the GM of a porsche audi store when I had this car it was in 1990 when Audi first came out with the A8.You were about 12 so get some more experience S4 before you shoot your mouth off.

cdoke - 5/15/2008 9:21:01 PM

-1 Boost

I do stand corrected on one thing: Automotive.com apparently reports total width with the mirrors, the Audi is indeed wider by 1.9 inches in the body

I am not prepared without an analysis that I really should have thought of before- although it wasn't necessary. let us calculate the weight of aluminum assuming a heigh from a strip running longitudnal and a solid piece of aluminum that is .1 inches wide (difference in wheelbase), 76 inches thick (A8 width) and oh ...4 inches tall. Add to that the 1.9 inches by 5.1 inches by 4 inches again. That is 79.16 cubic inches of extra material(Al) , multiply that by the heaviest specific weight I can find for Aluminum in my Mechanics of Materials book (7075-T6), .101 lb/in^3 would be 6.98 lbs of Al. The addition interior componts in these small section cannot weigh more than 20 lbs or so.

SHOWTIME - 5/16/2008 11:08:06 AM

+2 Boost

lol dude, I have no clue what you just said.

cdoke - 5/16/2008 12:50:21 PM

-1 Boost

Put another way, the difference in size does not explain the difference in weight.

In fact if you actually do the math, I know that it is odious to you Audi fanboys on here to do anything as irrational as mathematics, but the only way in which the weight difference after the frame assumptions are subtracted can be accounted for, is if the difference in floor area between the cars is filled 10 inches high with cast iron (ASTM A-48).

AlexTx - 5/16/2008 1:18:25 AM

+4 Boost

And here is our favorite beemer wannabe trolling on Audi posts.
What would you do without these Audi posts??

1000rrRider - 5/16/2008 11:16:44 AM

+2 Boost

BMW is all about performance but when it comes to comfort and day to day driving Audi is better. I also believe Audi has the nicest interior with extensive use of fiber optics for illumination.

abcd - 5/16/2008 4:02:37 PM

+1 Boost

title should be:

Audi Takes EUROPEAN Inventor Of The Year Award For Use Of Space Frame Technology

abcd - 5/16/2008 4:15:11 PM

-2 Boost

or:
Audi Takes EUROPEAN Inventor Of The Year Award For Use Of Space Frame Technology to PROMOTE europe technology