Audi A8

This spectacular car is constructed of Aluminum. Nearly all of this magnificent machine is made up of the ultra strong, and extremely light metal, aluminum.

Up till this point, steel has been used as the common material for automobiles despite aluminum's superiority. This is due to a few reasons. One of which is the scarcity of aluminum compared to steel. Steel is quite easy to manufacture and its component elements are very common and easy to mine and collect.

The other major reason that aluminum has not been utilized is the cost of it. Due to the scarcity and the fact that it is harder to manufacture aluminum, auto manufacturers have been reluctant to embrace this technology. In addition to the cost of the raw material, the tools and machines used to mold and weld this metal don't have the longevity that the steel machines do. This adds yet even more cost to the manufacture of aluminum cars.

This cost would then be passed on to the consumer as the auto manufacturer is not going to just absorb this extra cost. This in turn would upset the general public as the prices of automobiles would rise several thousand dollars, at this point in time with recent innovations, consumers are not able to afford this extra cost and they would be unable to buy the cars.

So by this point you may be asking yourself, what is wrong with Audi that they are taking this risk? The complete answer is their secret, but I can give you a brief summary.

Audi has formed a partnership of sorts with one of the worlds largest aluminum manufacturers and they are able to exchange products at a reduced cost. Then Audi has made yet another innovation in the building process of aluminum cars. They have figured out how to form the frames of aluminum cars in nearly the same way that steel cars are formed. From what I have read, the exact process is not completely revealed for obvious reasons, but they use several different machines to make the various components of the frame and then the use a special process which basically bonds the pieces of metal together.

This process allows the A8 to be one of the most solid cars in the world, one of the lightest luxury sedans, and it has saved the consumer a lot of money. The A8 is a relative bargain when compared to other Automobiles in this class.

For more information on the A8, just click on the image at the top of this page and that will take you to Audis American home page.