It was revealed by the German carmaker VW that it has succeeded in creating a bodyshell for its Golf model that’s lighter by 30 percent compared to the standard five-door variant. This has been attained after 4 years of development that included four other automakers (Renault, Volvo, Opel and Daimler) and 32 suppliers.
The result of the project, which was dubbed the SuperlightCar, will first be applied to cars that will be manufactured beginning 2012 and beyond. Although the body-in-white is basically still made from steel mostly, reductions in weight were achieved by the use of magnesium, aluminum and plastics. There were three versions created namely, the pure steel version, which reduced the weight of the Mk5 Golf by 20 percent or 55kg, a mixed materials version that was less expensive and a more expensive mixed materials version which succeeded in cutting the weight of the Mk5 Golf up to 114kg or 41 percent. The final bodyshell, which is a combination of all three versions for a balance between cost and weight reduction, has succeeded in cutting 82kg from the car.
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