Superleggera

From WOI Encyclopedia Italia

Touring Superleggera emblem on a Lamborghini car

Superleggera is an automobile construction technology used in Italy from the middle of the 20th century. The name means "super light" in Italian, and was patented in 1937 by the Italian coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Touring. Unlike the monocoque and body-on-frame methods widely adopted by the 1950s, Superleggera cars use a frame of metal tubes as a full-body frame which closely follow the shape of the car. These are then covered with body panels, made of aluminium. The Superleggera frame tubes are too small and of unsuitable material for mounting suspension components. This distinguishes it very clearly from spaceframe construction where no separate chassis is required.

The Superleggera construction method was primarily based on the use of 'Duraluminium', which originated from the aeronautic industry just before WW II. Carrozzeria Touring sold a Superleggera license to Aston Martin, who used it for their DB4, 5 and 6 models. This construction technique is no longer used in volume production cars today, but it is sometimes still found in low-volume and hand-built sports models.

A8GCS Berlinetta by Touring

In 2008, a new Superleggera chassis was introduced by the Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera srl. of Milan for their new A8GCS Berlinetta prototype with Maserati mechanical parts.

Notable superleggera models include:

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Mille Miglia
Aston Martin DB4 and DB5
Pegaso Z-102
Ferraris 166, 195, 212 and 340 models
Lamborghini 350GTV
Lancia Flaminia Convertible
BMW 328 Touring Roadster

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Specialised vehicles	Gyrocar \| Flying car. Amphibious vehicle
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Layout	FF layout \| FR layout \| MR layout \| MF layout \| RR layout
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Body	Framework	A-pillar \| Bumper \| Cabrio coach \| Chassis \| Crumple zone \| Body-on-frame \| Dagmar bumpers \| Fender \| Fender skirts \| Grille \| Hood \| Hood scoop \| Monocoque construction \| Pontoon fenders \| Quarter panel \| Shaker scoop \| Spoiler \| Subframe \| Tonneau
Doors	Butterfly doors \| Gull-wing door \| Scissor doors \| Suicide door
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Other	Antenna ball \| Hood ornament \| Japan Black paint \| Nerf bar \| Truck accessory \| Bumper sticker
Exterior Equipment	Lighting	Daytime running lamp \| Headlamp \| Headlight styling \| Hidden headlamps \| Retroreflector \| Sealed beam \| Trafficators \| High intensity discharge
Exterior Equipment	Other	British car number plates \| Distance sensor \| US and Canadian license plates \| Vanity plate \| Vehicle registration plate \| Windscreen wiper \| Windshield washer fluid
Car engine	Air/Fuel	Air filter \| Automatic Performance Control \| Blowoff valve \| Boost \| Boost controller \| Butterfly valve \| Carburetor \| Charge cooler \| Centrifugal type supercharger \| Cold air intake \| Engine management system \| Engine Control Unit \| Forced induction \| Front mounted intercooler \| Fuel filter \| Fuel injection \| Fuel pump \| Fuel tank \| Gasoline direct injection \| Indirect injection \| Intake \| Intercooler \| Manifold \| Manifold vacuum \| Mass flow sensor \| Naturally-aspirated engine \| Ram-air intake \| Scroll-type supercharger \| Short ram air intake \| Supercharger \| Throttle body \| Top mounted intercooler \| Turbocharger \| Turbocharged Direct Injection \| Twin-turbo \| Variable Length Intake Manifold \| Variable geometry turbocharger. Warm air intake
	Exhaust	Catalytic converter \| Emissions control devices \| Exhaust pipe \| Exhaust system \| Glasspack \| Muffler \| Oxygen sensor
	Cooling	Aircooling \| Antifreeze \| Ethylene glycol \| Radiator \| Thermostat
	Ignition system	Starter \| Car battery \| Contact breaker \| Distributor \| Electrical ballast \| Ignition coil \| Lead-acid battery \| Magneto \| Spark-ignition \| Spark plug
	Other	Balance shaft \| Block heater \| Crank. Cam \| Camshaft \| Connecting rod \| Combustion chamber \| Crank pin \| Crankshaft \| Crossflow cylinder head \| Crossplane \| Desmodromic valve \| Engine knocking \| Compression ratio \| Crank sensor \| Cylinder \| Cylinder bank \| Cylinder block \| Cylinder head \| Cylinder head porting \| Dump valve,Engine balance \| Oil filter \| Firing order \| Freeze plug \| Gasket \| Head gasket \| Hypereutectic piston \| Hydrolock \| Lean burn \| Main bearing \| Motor oil \| Multi-valve \| Oil sludge \| Overhead camshaft \| Overhead valve \| PCV valve \| Piston \| Piston ring \| Pneumatic valve gear \| Poppet valve \| Power band \| Redline \| Reverse-flow cylinder head \| Rocker arm \| Seal \| Sleeve valve \| Starter ring gear \| Synthetic oil \| Tappet \| Timing belt \| Timing mark \| Top dead centre \| Underdrive pulleys \| Valve float \| Variable valve timing
Interior equipment	Instruments	Backup camera \| Boost gauge \| Buzzer \| Car computer \| Carputer \| Check Engine light \| Fuel gauge \| Global Positioning System \| Idiot light \| Navigation system \| Odometer \| Speedometer \| Tachometer \| Trip computer
	Controls	Bowden cable \| Cruise control \| Electronic throttle control \| Hand brake \| Manettino dial \| Steering wheel \| Throttle \| Gear stick
	Motor vehicle theft deterrence	Car alarm \| ESITrack \| Immobiliser \| Klaxon \| Vehicle tracking system \| VIN etching
	Passenger safety & seating	Airbag \| Armrest \| Automatic seatbelt \| Bench seat \| Bucket seat \| Child safety lock \| Dicky seat \| Passive safety \| Rumble seat \| Seat belt
	Other	Air conditioning \| Ancillary power \| Car audio \| Car phone \| Center console \| Dashboard \| Motorola connector \| Power window \| Rear-view mirror \| TripSense
Powertrain	Wheels and Tires	All-terrain tyre \| Bias-ply tire \| Contact patch \| Custom wheel \| Drive wheel \| Hubcap \| Magnesium alloy wheel \| Mud-terrain tyre \| Paddle tires \| Radial tire \| Rostyle wheel \| Run flat tires \| Schrader valve \| Slick tire \| Spinner \| Tire code \| Tread \| Treadwear rating \| Whitewall tire \| Wire wheels
	Transmission	Automatic transmission \| Clutch \| Continuously variable transmission \| Differential \| Driveshaft \| Electrorheological clutch \| Epicyclic gearing \| Fluid coupling \| Fully-automatic transmission \| Gear stick \| Gearbox \| Hydramatic \| Limited slip differential \| Locking differential \| Manual transmission \| Roto Hydramatic \| Saxomat \| Semi-automatic transmission \| Semi-automatic transmission \| Super Turbine 300 \| Tiptronic Torque converter \| Transmission (mechanics) \| Transmission Control Unit \| Turbo-Hydramatic \| Universal joint
	Steering	Ackermann steering geometry \| Anti-lock braking system \| Camber angle \| Car handling \| Caster angle \| Oversteer \| Power steering \| Rack and pinion \| Toe angle \| Torque steering \| Understeer
	Suspension	Axle \| Beam axle \| Coil spring \| De Dion tube \| Double wishbone \| Electronic Stability Control \| Hydragas \| Hydrolastic \| Hydropneumatic suspension \| Independent suspension \| Kingpin \| Leaf spring \| Live axle \| MacPherson strut \| Multi-link suspension \| Panhard rod \| Semi-trailing arm suspension \| Shock absorber \| Sway bar \| Swing axle \| Torsion beam suspension \| Transaxle \| Trailing arm \| Unsprung weight \| Watt's linkage \| Wishbone suspension
	Brakes	Anti-lock braking system \| Disc brake \| Drum brake \| Hand brake \| Hydraulic brake \| Inboard brake \| Brake lining \| Brake fade \| Brake fluid \| Hydraulic fluid \| Brake bleeding \| Engine braking \| Electronic brakeforce distribution \| Regenerative brake

Superleggera

From WOI Encyclopedia Italia

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