A new class premieres – the Sports Utility Cabriolet (SUC)

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A new class premieres – the Sports Utility Cabriolet (SUC)

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September 26, 2005 The undeniable trend in world automotive sales over the last few decades has been the rise of the SUV, and in particular, the luxury SUV.The luxury SUV market offers the spaciousness, comfort, technology and customer services of a luxury car without the same price and value-for-money is just one of the reasons why luxury SUVs are increasingly taking the place of the family car. Another key trend of recent times that is gaining strength is the cabriolet – the ability to take the top off a car and drive with the wind in your hair is something people are increasingly prepared to pay for. So why not combine the two trends. German automotive specialist Karmann, best known for the Karmann Ghia Volkswagen, has done just that, and its research suggests the category could be huge within the decade. We agree. We also speak with Jörg Steuernagel, Chief Stylist at Karmann who explains how the idea came about and why the prospects are so bright.

In 1995 Mercedes founded a new niche with the first modern retractable hardtop (RHT) which it developed in collaboration with Karmann. Ten years later RHT models are rolled out by nearly all volume manufacturers or are just about to enter on the market (four big announcements at last week’s Frankfurt Motor Show). Karmann is again setting the trend by proclaiming its new show car is the first Sport Utility Cabrio (SUC). The SUC concept car has a soft top with a separate glass rear window and an innovative chassis system from ZF Friedrichshafen.

The SUC has some unique technical features including doors that open as much as 90 degrees and away from each other, enabling easy egress. The main attraction is the cover and soft top and storage area design because the soft top spans the SUV's occupant and luggage compartments. Because the rear window is not integrated into the soft top, it's comfortable to load luggage when the roof is open.

ZF Friedrichshafen has created a special chassis for effective transfer of power to the 22 inch wheels that also meets the requirements. Via the electronic CDC (Continuous Damping Control) with various parameters an optimal damping level will be reached. The system demonstrates its full efficiency by networking various control elements such as ESP, ABS or CDC. The results are more driving comfort, higher safety reserves and a clear reduction in vibration.

Karmann forecasts that the Sport Utility Cabrio could sell as many as 180,000 units a year within a decade if the automotive manufacturers introduced the design in Western Europe and the USA.

Classic vehicle models, such as sedans and station wagons are increasingly threatened by new niche models. Vans, Mini-Vans, Convertibles, Coupés, Retractable Hardtop-Cabrios, Sport Utility Vehicles and many other varieties make the borders blurred. So, how do designers and engineers find new niches? At the beginning of the Sport Utility Cabrio the idea was to combine the advantages of two strong-growth vehicles in a new, to-date vacant, vehicle concept.

They take its striking lines and transport these into the present. The tripartition on the front area, the striking middle line and the air intakes is formative. From the first rendering to the first model and to the concept car the best possible solution was sought between technicians and designers in order to present a vehicle feasible for production and economically viable. As development service provider and full service vehicle supplier Karmann does not pursue the goal of developing its own car but giving car makers impulses for their new trends with concept studies. Moreover, the chassis specialists from ZF and the engineers from Karmann are the proof of this by successfully carrying out a very complex projectin close cooperation.

Body solutions In order to satisfy crash safety requirements the body of the Sport Utility Cabrio had to be additionally reinforced. The existing floor of the basic vehicle offered the possibility to be reinforeced with a second floor plate. The newly designed sandwich structure provided the necessary rigidity for the four-door Convertible. However, the locking systems were integrated into the shortened B-column to deflect the resulting forces in case of a side crash.For comfortable access to all four seats an innovative door concept was created whereby driver and passengers can open the rear doors in the opposite direction independently from one another and completely collision-free.

In addition, the engineers developed evacuable seals, which are inflated by two separate leak-proof lines when the doors are closed. When opening the doors the air is expelled from the gaskets so that the doors swing open without any problems. An additional bolt centers the closed doors with one another, prevents the opening of the doors by the air stream and reduces the vibrations. The weight of the individual components also plays a decisive roll in the design of the doors. Instead of the conventional monocoque design the engineers use a spacious framework with hollow structures - the so-called space frame design. The resulting weight saving amounts to about 3.5 kilograms per door.

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