car
Mercedes SL (2012): aluminium saves 8% weight
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
Mercedes' new 2012 SL will weigh a solid 140kg less than today's SL roadster - a significant saving of some 8%.
This crash diet has been enabled by the adoption of aluminium for the new SL. The learnings from the SLS gullwing are now trickling down to the higher-volume SL, which will be revealed in December 2011.
The lion's share of the weight saving is made in the bodyshell, which is a stout 110kg lighter than the current steel shell. That's not bad considering today's SL already has aluminium bonnets and doors.
It's the first time a series production Mercedes has been made entirely out of aluminium. Some of the rear panels are crafted from magnesium, and the rollover structure in the A-pillar is steel - but 89% of the bodyshell is aluminium. The whole shell weighs 254kg.
'The effect is rather as if a heavyweight-class passenger had got out of the car and taken his heavy flight luggage, too,' said Thomas Rudlaff, responsible for the aluminium bodyshell. 'The result is perceptible and measurable. Less weight means more dynamism and less consumption. In other words: the motoring enjoyment increases and the environmental burden sinks.'
This crash diet has been enabled by the adoption of aluminium for the new SL. The learnings from the SLS gullwing are now trickling down to the higher-volume SL, which will be revealed in December 2011.
The lion's share of the weight saving is made in the bodyshell, which is a stout 110kg lighter than the current steel shell. That's not bad considering today's SL already has aluminium bonnets and doors.
It's the first time a series production Mercedes has been made entirely out of aluminium. Some of the rear panels are crafted from magnesium, and the rollover structure in the A-pillar is steel - but 89% of the bodyshell is aluminium. The whole shell weighs 254kg.
'The effect is rather as if a heavyweight-class passenger had got out of the car and taken his heavy flight luggage, too,' said Thomas Rudlaff, responsible for the aluminium bodyshell. 'The result is perceptible and measurable. Less weight means more dynamism and less consumption. In other words: the motoring enjoyment increases and the environmental burden sinks.'
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