Last week, Altair and Center for Automotive Research (CAR) announced that Toyota was one of its recipients for the fifth annual Altair Enlighten Award honoring innovation in automotive lightweighting. Toyota split top honors with Faurecia in the module category for its side and luggage doors for the 2017 Lexus LC 500 and the liftgate of the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime.
Those parts, according to Toyota, feature carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) inner panels, which are combined with aluminum, glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) and polypropylene outers for components that are 47 percent lighter than conventional metal structures.
“Toyota is excited to offer closure systems that are optimized to the unique mission of each vehicle,” said JP Flaharty, Executive Program Manager at Toyota Motor North America R&D. “With CFRP applied to the Prius Prime liftgate and the Lexus LC side and luggage doors, our customers can recognize the light touch and high tech appearance of these sophisticated, lightweight door systems. Our entire development team is honored to receive the Altair Enlighten Award in the module category.”
