SCALIGHT: A new approach to vehicle body design

Salzgitter AG and Karmann GmbH are jointly developing and creating the vehicle body concept of the future

Salzgitter AG and Wilhelm Karmann GmbH are pooling their skills in partnership to achieve new breakthroughs. After working together on the atlas spaceframe project, they now intend to go a stage further with SCALIGHT.

The latest materials produced on an industrial scale by Salzgitter AG form the basis for the safe, lightweight components which will form the vehicle bodies of the future. And via the SCALIGHT project, Salzgitter AG is also bringing its expertise to bear on the processing methods applied in production. Meanwhile Karmann is contributing its experience in vehicle manufacturing to develop the basic concept and the assembly methods.

The demands on future vehicle designs are clearly defined: they must be economical, light and safe. SCALIGHT is a showcase for pioneering solutions. SCALIGHT is a scaleable basic architecture which can be modified at minimal cost for a variety of different vehicles, making body design and construction a highly economical prospect. Fast changeover, fewer components and the intensive use of closed section profiles offer huge potential savings in comparison with conventional manufacturing.

By 2007 the SCALIGHT concept will be ready to form the basis for an innovative approach to series production. Between now and then an endless chain of solutions will have been developed from materials to production processes and even a new concept in repairs.

SCALIGHT brings the future a step closer. The ability to develop new models with less effort and in less time and the substantially reduced investment in body manufacturing facilities are convincing advantages. Not to mention the fact that the two partners in Lower Saxony see the SCALIGHT project as a means of strengthening Germany’s position as a center of industry.