|
|
|
Stunningly beautiful, comfortable and agile: with a power-to-weight
ratio of 3.72 kg/HP, the new German sports car Artega® GT is setting
new standards in the 300 HP league. As if that were not enough, the
agile two-seater is the first series-production vehicle in the whole
world to have a body completely made out of polyurethane (PU) –
consistently relying on lightweight-construction, the airy chassis was
developed by the creative hotbed for sports cars Artega located in
Delbrück in co-operation with the BASF subsidiary Elastogran.
The
breathtakingly styled coupé captivates with its unique synthesis of
power development, consumption, cruising range and travel ability.
Although the Artega GT (price: €75,000), manufactured in an exclusive
small series, is not a super sports car, with its vehicle dynamics it
can certainly compete with them, and also has excellent long-distance
and everyday qualities.
In time for this year’s Geneva
Motorshow the EU fuel consumption values for the Artega GT have been
revealed: according to Euro 4 it is a mere 8.9 l (super plus ROZ 98) /
100 km, which translates into CO2 emissions of only 211 g/km. In terms
of EU consumption according Euro 5 the Artega GT also sets an example
in the sports car segment at only 9.1 l (super plus ROZ 98) / 100 km.
And this at an acceleration speed of 4.8 seconds from 0 – 100 km/h and
a top speed of 270 km/h.
With the exception of the 300 HP V6
and sporty comfortable manual gearbox (both made by VW) everything on
the Artega is new. The Elastogran experts were tasked to create the
carbon fibre-reinforced PU component in the race-tested material
combination of aluminium and high-tensile steel. The PU light-weight
frame and body was developed in close co-operation with Elastogran.
Today it is manufactured by our expert partners and customers such as
Erwin Friedmann Kunststoffwerk GmbH in Offenburg and Automobil- und
Kunststofftechnik GmbH in Hörselberg.
The mudgards, rear end,
front and side parts of the sports car are made out of Elastolit®, the
carbon fibre-reinforced, microcellular PU system made by Elastogran
which stands out due to its enormous robustness and very good impact
resistance even at extremely low temperatures. The combination of
different PU materials with excellent mechanical properties turns the
smart two-seater into a real lightweight whilst providing additional
advantages in terms of cost and safety. Thanks to the RIM technology
established in frame-and-body construction, it is possible to realise
thin prefabricated parts that have a distinct inherent rigidity. The
low thermal expansion coefficient of the fibre-reinforced Elastogran PU
system ensures a high accuracy of fit and an extreme dimensional
stability under heat. Due to its high surface quality the lightweight
construction material is ideally suited for Class A finishes of visible
free-form surfaces.
For the PU body parts of the Artega
manufactured by means of the RIM method (Reaction Injection Moulding)
the two-component, liquid and highly reactive PU system Elastolit is
injected into a closed tool within the space of one second. After 15 to
30 seconds the finished component is demoulded and all this whilst
maintaining a consistently high quality. Unlike in conventional
injection moulding processes PU RIM materials maintain a low viscosity
and therefore possess and excellent flowability during the reaction
time. These facts are key to the production of complicated component
geometries and sophisticated designs.
Conclusion: the Artega
is a “pure“ sports car without being purist. The reference object is
the beginning of a new automotive brand creating something completely
new without being subjected to the constraints of history. During all
the design stages Artega orients itself on tried and testes processes
used in large-series productions. Apart from the exceptional
development effort this aspiration also becomes clearly visible in the
construction of the new 6,000 sqm car plant in Delbrück, North-Rhine
Westphalia where industrial processes have been implemented in an
exemplary manner in the small-series production. Artega deliberately
does not work like a manufactory. They prefer to work Iine-production
similar, to large series productions.
|
|
|
|
Further Information
|
|
|
|
|
|