Jan
15
Aluminum subframes for ‘Vette rolled out by Norsk Hydro unit - Chevrolet Corvette
Filed Under Chevy Cars
The company is paying 63 to 65 cents per pound for aluminum billet, which continues to decline in price. Two or three months ago, the material cost 67 to 68 cents a pound, Hydro executives said.
Norsk Hydro has developed forming and fabricating techniques for the unusual subframes that its executives said are efficient and practical.
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With these factors of materials cost and efficient production methods on their side, executives of the company said they found it easier than normal to describe the Corvette subassemblies as a “stepping stone” to the production of full automotive spaceframes made from light-alloy extrusions.
Norsk Hydro is working with Pininfarina SpA, Turin, Italy, in the development of a sports car known as the Ethos with an aluminum extrusion-based spaceframe. The company’s biggest competitor in the automotive extrusions field, Aluminum Co. of America, already is tooling a new plant in Soest, Germany, to make spaceframes for a new lightweight luxury car known as the Audi 300 that is scheduled for introduction next year.
Karen Matthews, Corvette senior project engineer, said at a news conference here last Tuesday that the new Hydro Aluminum-built subframe saves 4 pounds compared with an assembly of aluminum stampings and uses at least 15 fewer parts. “Using extrusions instead of stampings also saved 75 percent in tooling costs,” she said, “and gave us an overall economic savings of 18 percent.”
