Valmet
Raceabout
The
number of specialty car models and derivatives on the worldwide car markets is
increasing. Cars are made for even more narrowly limited target groups, and
therefore the number of small series cars is increasing.
Unusual
and unique body styling is typical for these vehicles. Advanced light-weight
materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber are often utilized. The yearly
production volumes start from some thousands of units. The big challenge for
the OEMs is to serve well the customers looking for individuality, without
disturbing the efficiency of higher volume production.
Valmet
Automotive has excellent operational readiness to serve the OEMs on this
growing market segment. Also with smaller volumes the OEM customer can profit
from the volume production benefits, like cost efficiency and constant high
quality.
The
RaceAbout 2005 sports car was presented on the Valmet Automotive stand at the
Geneva Motor Show as an example of what a modern small series sports car could
be. It is a sporty roadster with an all- aluminum monocoque, honeycomb floor
pan, stainless steel sub-frames and ultra-light carbon fiber panels. The
light-weight body structure was a distinctive target in the engineering of the
car.
The
RaceAbout 2005 was designed and assembled by Finnish automotive engineering and
design students at the Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and at the University of Art
and Design Helsinki. Valmet Automotive has been a major partner in the project.
Valmet
Automotive continuously cooperates with research and educational institutes.
This lays ground for future innovations and promotes the development of local
automotive industry knowledge. At the same time it ensures the availability of
well-skilled engineering workforce also in the future.
