Cycle Tech Delivers Lightweight Chassis for Caterham
A trio of British companies has produced the world’s first car chassis using butted tubing technology taken from bicycle production. Famous bicycle tube-makers Reynolds Technology, high-quality Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) consultancy Simpact and sportscar maker Caterham Cars shaved more than 10% off the weight of the already lightweight chassis of the iconic Caterham Seven. The research and development project unveiled a prototype Seven using the new technology and processes at the Niche Vehicle Network Symposium on Wednesday, March 16. Caterham believes that an ultra-lightweight Seven using the new technology would cost between £1,000 and £2,000 as an option on the standard vehicle but could be taken up by as much as a fifth of future Caterham customers. Reynolds, which first patented the process for making butted tubes in 1897, provided the tubing technology for the initiative and had to develop […]