THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY ALFA ROMEO ON A BASE VEHICLE - THE ALFA SUD - WITH A VIEW TO REDUCING FUEL CONSUMPTION AND INCREASING THE LEVELS OF PASSIVE SAFETY, WHILE RETAINING THE PERFORMANCE AND HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORIGINAL VEHICLE. DETAILS ARE GIVEN OF THE RESULTS OF ROLL OVER, SIDEWAYS, HEAD ON AND REAR END IMPACT TESTS CARRIED OUT WITH ANTHROPOMETRIC DUMMIES TO INVESTIGATE THE PASSIVE SAFETY OF VEHICLE OCCUPANTS. RESEARCH INTO FUEL CONSUMPTION WAS DIRECTED TOWARDS A HIGHER EFFICIENCY ENGINE, REDUCTION IN DRAG, WEIGHT AND ROLLING RESISTANCE, AND OPTIMIZATION OF FINAL DRIVE RATIO. FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 802816.
Abstract