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Innovative solutions for optimized weight, cost and functional vehicle production in cooperation with automotive manufacturers: this is the goal of InCar, a comprehensive research and development offensive by ThyssenKrupp. The development focuses not only on new steel materials, but also component and systems design for body-in-white, chassis and powertrain. Similar to a tool box, InCar offers individual solutions based on customer-specific targets, which can be selected as needed. InCar offers new and progressive solutions as well as current production products and manufacturing technologies. Solutions such as a lightweight front longitudinal member made with InForm T₃-Profile technology, a cost-optimized lightweight chassis, and innovative hot-forming solutions will be presented in detail.

The ThyssenKrupp InCar Project is a comprehensive R&D development that gives automotive manufacturers modular solution kits for body, chassis, and powertrain applications. The solution kits developed within this project offer weight reduction, cost savings, or improved functionality. This paper will focus on the front longitudinal members of the body structure. The front longitudinal member is a key safety component responsible for absorbing energy in a frontal crash event. It must also have high local strength, stiffness, and fatigue resistance at the suspension attachment points. Within the InCar project, several different solutions for the front longitudinal members were developed, including stamped AHSS concepts, stamped AHSS tailored blank concepts, and tailored tube concepts using an innovative forming technology for closed section designs, called InForm T3 (Thyssen Tailored Tubes).