Interesting read - exterior body composition

[Lotustoronto]

Interesting read - enjoy

Teijin Automotive Technologies Supplying Key Exterior Components on New Lotus Emira

If you’ve seen the all-new Lotus Emira, you’ll likely notice its dramatic exterior styling. The sleek exterior of this mid-engine premium sports car i

www.businesswire.com

 

[forest]

　Teijin announced on April 26 that GF-SMC (Glass Fiber Sheet Molding Compound) developed by the Teijin Group has been adopted by Lotus Cars for the doors, rear quarters, and tailgate of its new sports car, the Emila.

　GF-SMC is an intermediate material made by impregnating thermosetting resin into glass fiber and forming it into a sheet, The GF-SMC base material is manufactured at TAT's Poincé plant in France and molded at the Lesa de Barrio plant in Portugal.

　TCA Ultra Lite, an ultra-lightweight molding material based on GF-SMC, is used for the exterior panels of the Emira's doors, rear quarter, and tailgate. TCA Ultra Lite is a molded component that combines TAT's proprietary vacuum technology and adhesive treatment. In addition to being up to 40% lighter than conventional composite parts and equivalent in weight to aluminum, the product has superior strength and durability, is resistant to dents, and does not rust, according to the company.

　In addition, it has the same surface smoothness as conventional metal panels, making it suitable for electrodeposition coating, which is essential on automobile mass production lines, and achieving the "Class A" quality required for the coating of exterior panel parts. In addition, the thin-walled and complex shape from the door to the rear quarter, which is difficult to achieve with metal materials, is integrally molded to ensure air flow toward the air intake port and to provide adequate air intake and cooling for the engine section.

　On the other hand, the inner panel of the tailgate is made of low-density GF-SMC, whose strength has been optimized for structural components, to ensure the strength required for the body frame.

 

[KusaKusa]

Matt Windle has recently expressed interest in moving from composite body panels to pressed metals, likely for cost and higher throughput reasons. Hopefully this doesn't compromise future styling, since the composites can have much more complex shapes and sharper angles.

I believe the Eletre uses metal body panels, so we could look to that to see how they will use metal panels on lifestyle vehicles and potential future sports cars. Almost all the body seems to follow likely constraints around metal panels: not sharp or complex shapes on the body, and there's plastic/carbon where there are vents or intricate shapes (front bumper). However, the rear fender lower panel (right below the edge of the brake light) sticks out as the only panel that seems to be metal but is super complex, so I'm wondering how they managed to achieve that.