ULSAB - the first of many projects to demonstrate lightweight body structures with steel

The Ultralight Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) Programme, completed in 1998, is an intensive, multi-phase study to demonstrate steel's capability to reduce substantially the weight of a vehicle's body structure and, at the same time, ensure safety with improved comfort and driving performace, all at affordable cost. The first of it's kind in steel automotive research, ULSAB resulted in the design and engineering of a lightweight, efficent steel body structure that achieves impressive mass savings and significant performance improvements, while retaining affordable cost to manufacture. ULSAB achieves: •Mass savings of 25% over the benchmark at no cost penalty •80% improvement in torsional rigidity •52% improvement in bending rigidity •58% improvement in first body mode •Meets all mandated crash requirements