Audi
is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its first all-aluminium bodied car. At
the 1991 Frankfurt Motorshow, Audi teased the public with the quattro Spyder
concept car and a month later in Tokyo unveiled its futuristic sportscar design
study presented in polished aluminium, the Audi Avus was worldwide headline
news.
Englishman Martin Smith was a member of the Audi Design team involved in the
Avus project. (named after a Berlin racetrack). The Avus was finished in
unpainted aluminium recalling the racing heritage of the great Auto Union
record-breakers of the 1930s. The car can now be viewed today in Audi’s Museum
in Ingolstadt.
At
the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show, the design study entitled "Audi Space
Frame" (ASF) - the forerunner to the aluminium bodied Audi A8 was shown.
The all-aluminium body used new structural principles whereby every panel
surface contributed to a load-bearing effect.
Improved aluminium alloys and process techniques from research work resulted
in the "Aluminium Audi" celebrating its world première as the
successor to the Audi V8 at the 1994 Geneva Motor Show. This was the first
production saloon with an aluminium body.
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