FORD GT

The Ford GT is a mid engine two seater sport car that has been in production from 2005 till 2008 in which only 4038 were produce and used 5.4 L supercharged V8 and uses Rear Mid engine, Rear wheel drive layout(RMR).

RMR is one in which the rear wheels are driven by an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment.

Ford GT uses Aluminum Space Frame (ASF) because of it performance and light weight and has a good weight distribution which 43 on the front and 57 on the rear.


The GT's spaceframe contains 35 detailed extrusions and four large, complex castings for the front and rear shock towers. This design offers an opportunity for part consolidation; for example the rear shock tower casting has mounting brackets and several key attachment points for the side rail, rear crash box, and cross car beam reinforcements.

Several new forming technologies are being used to produce body-in-white panels for the car. They include superplastic forming for body exterior panels such as fenders, roof, rear quarters, engine cover, door outers, and door inners; roll bonding for floor panels for light weight and stiffness; and friction stir welding of critical interior sections. It is expected that the successful application of these manufacturing and assembly technologies will eventually be applied to later Ford vehicle designs. The hood inner and outer panels are fabricated from chopped fiberglass composite. Front and rear bumpers and rocker panels are manufactured using reinforced reaction injection molding (RRIM).

The only disadvantages for a ASF chassis is, it is still too expensive for a mass production scale and thus were limited and considered rare.

Ac Cobra

The Ac cobra also known as Shelby Cobra in North America is an Anglo-American sports car that was produced during the 1960s. It is 2 door roadsters that see its production in 1961 till 1967 which produced a variant of the car series which is called the Mk series.

It is a Front Engine and rear wheel drive layout where engine is located at the front of the vehicle and driven wheels are located at the rear.

The AC Cobra uses one of the earliest kinds of chassis which is the Ladder chassis which the name comes from its construction that looks like a ladder with two longitudinal rails interconnected several lateral and cross braces. The longitude members are the main stress member. They deal with the load and also the longitudinal forces caused by acceleration and braking. The lateral cross members provide resistance to lateral forces and further increase torsional rigidity. Body mounts are usually integral outriggers from the main rails, and suspension points can be well or poorly integrated into the basic design. The original Shelby 289 Cobra used 3 inch round tubes, a very flexible design that worked with stiff transverse-leaf springs for adequate but primitive handling.

Because of its obsolete design the only advantage of this chassis is that it is easy and cheap for hand build. However because of it is a 2 dimensional structure, torsional rigidity is very much lower than other chassis especially when dealing with vertical load or bumps.

The M-Class also protects its occupants after a crash

As part of the POST-SAFE® functions, the new M-Class can activate a variety of systems which can contribute towards avoiding post-accident risks. After a more serious crash, the hazard warning lights are automatically activated to warn surrounding traffic. At the same time, the doors are automatically unlocked so that the emergency services have the best possible unrestricted access to the passengers. And thanks to partial opening of the side windows, the interior is better ventilated after deployment of the restraint systems.

On detecting a collision, the central control unit switches off the fuel system to reduce the risk of a possible fire. After determining the cylinder positions, the engine management system opens the injection valves of those cylinders which are not under compression and discharges the high-pressure fuel area by direct evacuation of the remaining fuel in the combustion chamber. This reduces the risk of fuel escaping. To avoid fuel losses, all M-Class models are also fitted with cut-resistant fuel lines in all relevant locations. This also helps to reduce the risk of a possible fire breaking out.

The new Mercedes-Benz M-Class: Chassis system – Dynamism meets comfort

As with all passenger car models from Mercedes-Benz, the philosophy behind the safety concept of the M-Class is broken down into four phases:

• Safe driving: avoiding danger, warning and assisting the driver in good time
• In the event of danger: anticipating and enabling preventive protective measures
• In an accident: providing protection as needed
• After an accident: avoiding even worse consequences and making rapid assistance possible

The very high level of safety already achieved in the previous model has been increased even further thanks to meticulous attention to detail during the development stage. The many "invisible" Mercedes-Benz solutions in particular bring measurable benefits in real accident situations. To support new technologies or the evolution of existing systems, the engineers carried out numerous crash tests which went way beyond the tests normally specified, such as the roof-drop test for example, as well as various rollover tests. When it detects the need to do so, a rollover sensor system can activate side and window airbags, as well as belt tensioners. In total, as part of the M-Class development Mercedes-Benz tested 36 totally different loads under real test conditions. This included comprehensive simulations for the digital prototype. Following this intensive development programme, the M-Class now has the potential to pass all international ratings with the best possible results.

The M-Class is also able to demonstrate the highest possible protection potential when it comes to more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians or cyclists. In addition to yielding areas in the front section, folding exterior mirrors and smooth contours, the risk of injury caused by the vehicle has been reduced by adjusting the bonnet and increasing the distance to the components in the engine compartment. In addition, for the first time in the SUV segment, an active bonnet is fitted as standard equipment. It is able to reduce the acceleration forces of an impacting pedestrian or cyclist by intercepting them earlier.

To be on the safe side: over three dozen different crash tests

Safety pioneer Mercedes-Benz has been conducting routine crash tests on complete vehicles since the late 1950s. Bella Barenyi established systematic safety testing. The first crash tests were spectacular, with cable winches or steam rockets being used to propel the cars. Today the cars are accelerated by a hydraulic catapult.

The number of different crash tests has risen dramatically over the years because, in keeping with its holistic “Real Life Safety” approach, Mercedes-Benz does not only perform crash tests using those crash configurations that are specified for rating tests and world-wide approval. It also conducts crash tests based on the in-house accident research department’s findings, whose requirements sometimes go way beyond those of the statutory requirements. New Mercedes passenger cars therefore have to pass a total of over three dozen different crash tests. Currently, some 500 crash tests per year take place at the Mercedes safety centre in Sindelfingen, plus more than 50,000 computer-simulated tests.

One of the most demanding in-house crash tests is the roof-drop test, which Mercedes-Benz uses to check the body’s roll-over protection. The new E-Class Cabriolet also had to pass the roof-drop test with extreme load on the roof frame. Here the body is dropped onto its roof at a slight angle from a height of 50 centimetres. Consequently, the vehicle lands with its full weight on one of the two A-pillars, which is only allowed to deform slightly if the vehicle is to pass the test

Robust roll-over bars triggered by pyrotechnic means

Further safety features for the open-top two-door model include the A-pillars reinforced by two additional tubes, the plug-in B-pillars and roll-over protection. The latter consists of two robust bars, each with a diameter of 35 mm, which are housed in the rear head restraints in modules behind the rear seat backrests. If the sensors housed in the airbag control unit detect imminent danger to the occupants, pre-tensioned pressure springs are activated by pyrotechnic means, i.e. extremely quickly.

Consequently, both roll-over bars in the rear head restraints are extended. They reach their highest point and are locked automatically within a fraction of a second. In combination with the robust A-pillars, each of which is reinforced with two high-strength steel tubes, the steel bars provide highly effective roll-over protection. 

Easy to repair: reversible bonnet

Development of the E-Class body focussed on customer benefit at all times, as shown by the Active Bonnet, which reduces the risk of injury to pedestrians and features a reversible design.

Further easy-to-repair and, therefore, money-saving solutions include the bolted-on crash boxes at the front and rear as well as the radiator fastening.