Volkswagen develops 30% lighter Golf

To vehicle, we know that the lighter weight makes it easier to maintain performance and therefore more efficient engines. Earlier this year Audi's plan for a lighter pair of next-generation S4 and S5 performance variants were revealed. Now Volkswagen is working on a new lightweight platform for its Golf that will reduce the weight by up to 30%.

The project to build a new lightweight Golf is actually a part of a larger project founded by the European Commission and dubbed the SuperlightCar project. The project involves 32 suppliers and several other carmakers, including Renault, Volvo, Opel and Daimler.

The project focuses on using lightening techniques include the use of steel where appropriate, but also lightweight materials such as aluminum and magnesium where cost-effective. Its overall goal is cutting body-in-white structure weight in the mid-size segment by up to 30% while maintaining commercially reasonable prices.

VW is going to build three concept Golfs: the first was made entirely of steel, the second with mixed materials built with low-cost techniques and the third was built from more expensive mixed materials. The first two cars were 20% lighter, while the concept with the expensive materials was 41% lighter.

The German firm eventually settled for a compromise using a combination of the three concepts to achieve the best balance of weight and cost.

The SuperlightCar project ends in July 31, 2009 and it is highly likely other manufacturers will be releasing details of more lightweight designs very soon. Volkswagen's lightweight Golf is expected to hit the market in 2012.