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Audi has received the EuroCarBody AWARD from the Automotive Circle
International, for the innovative body concept of the new Audi TT.
The sports coupé defeated 13 competitors from around the globe including BMW,
Citroen and Jaguar to take out the prestigious award.
Audi first developed its groundbreaking Audi Space Frame (ASF) technology in
the early 1990s for the Audi A8. The body of the new TT represents the first
application of the ASF with a hybrid construction, featuring an intricate
composition of aluminium and steel.
In the new TT, Audi has made further developments in its ASF technology, by
adding high-strength steel to the material mix.
The TT body-in-white weighs 206 kg, of which 140 kg is aluminium and 66 kg is
steel; as an all-steel construction it would be 48 percent heavier.
The new form of ASF developed for the Audi TT has qualities that are perfect
for a sports car. The static torsional stiffness of the Coupé is roughly 50
percent higher then that of its predecessor; on the Roadster the increase is an
incredible 128 percent.
Audi is profiting from its vastly superior wealth of experience when it comes
to joining together aluminium and steel components. Joining is performed in a
variety of ways – punch-riveting, clinching and bonding. A fourth joining
technology has now been added to the list - self-tapping screws, inserted by
robots, melt the surface of the component as a result of the friction they
cause, thus penetrating fully into the material, forming a positive connection
with it. Another innovative concept used on the new TT is the aluminium zero
joint that is produced between the roof and the side section during
laser-welding.
This technique also enhances ride comfort by reducing vibration. It took only
a few simulation cycles on the computer to arrive at a structure that suppresses
incipient vibration and avoids transmission paths.
In terms of crash safety, too, the new TT is utterly uncompromising. This is
the second time that Audi has received the coveted award. In 2003 Europe's most
prestigious innovation prize for body construction went to the Audi A8 with the
A6 receiving third place in 2004.
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