Modular Concepts and the Design of the ModCar Body Shell

Abstract

To achieve the aim of building a car to customer order within 5 days, an innovative modular concept car was conceived that supported the planned costeffective built-to-order proposition and stockless production. In a multi-stage design process the automotive body shell, outer panels and selective outer structures have been developed to fit over the modular body frame, offering numerous advantages. The project had a twin aim of meeting not only the technical requirements, which included not only modularity, safety, low weight and a panoramic view, but also the emotional design aspects, including looking “sporty” and “agile”. The appearance of the car body shell for the ModCar is of great importance if it is to be commercially viable and achieve success in the marketplace. Developments in lightweight materials and process technologies enabled the development of advanced function-integrated lightweight vehicle modules for series manufacture. The ModCar fulfils the criteria regarding passenger protection with respect to the Euro-NCAP standards. In addition, simulations show that the essential bending stiffness has been achieved. An optimised lightweight door module consisting of novel materials demonstrates good overall performance with regard to static load and crash behaviour testing. As such, the ModCar demonstrates that the novel concepts employed may be used to successfully produce a vehicle that is saleable in the European market.