On 18 May, the students at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm, invited the press and sponsors to a presentation of their two special car projects.
The first, Sleipner, is completely new and is going to compete in the Shell Eco Marathon on 26-28 May in Lausitz in Germany, a race that attracts university teams from all over the world to build energy-efficient vehicles.
Frank Krönert Sapa Automotive and Håkan Muhr
Sapa Profiler unveiled Sleipner at the press preview.
Sleipner is made of the lightest possible materials. The chassis is made of aluminium and weighs less than five kilograms, the body is made of PET plastic and the driver’s seat is going to be upholstered with a fabric that is lighter than paper. The total weight of the car is less than 30 kilograms, including the single-cylinder, four-stroke engine from Honda.
The race rules are really simple: drive as far as possible on a litre of petrol. The target is to drive further than 1,243 km and beat the Swedish record in the process.
The driver will be Tina Argårds Runesson, who contacted Sapa early this spring to discuss a partnership. The discussion was so successful that Sapa became the main sponsor of the project. Sapa Automotive and Sapa Profiles are now working together to give the KTH students the best possible support to enable them to succeed with their venture.
Eco Cars is an excellent example of the advantages aluminium provides when it is used in a creative, go-ahead environment. Sapa’s involvement focuses on the strategic aspect of lightweight structures made of aluminium. Among other things, it helps to reduce fuel consumption and, in a passenger car, a 100 kg weight reduction also cuts carbon emissions by 9 g/km. High-strength, 6xxx alloys for both the structure and collision protection also have obvious benefits.
This joint venture with KTH is one step in Sapa’s desire to create links with future vehicle developers. Tina could be one of them. We wish her the very best of luck!