Part of Hydro in every A6
(March 5, 2004) When Audi unveils its A6 sedan at the 2004 Geneva International Motor Show, the world will find there is a little bit of Hydro Aluminium in every car.
 PREFERRED: Hydro Aluminium is Audi's preferred independent supplier of cylinder heads and crash management components. (Photo: Geneva International Motor Show) |
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Hydro Aluminium has long been one of Audi's preferred suppliers, particularly within the area of extrusion-based crash management components.
Hydro is supplying both the front and rear bumper beams for the sleek new A6, from the Automotive sector's Structures plant in Raufoss, Norway.
Thanks in large part to strong cooperation with the customer, not to mention determination and foresight from Hydro's sales staff and engineering team, Hydro Aluminium delivers about 75 percent of all the bumper beams in the German carmaker's complete fleet of models.
Furthermore, Hydro Aluminium's strong success in the automotive heat transfer business is also partly due to its success with the Volkswagen group, and with its luxury carmaker Audi. The Precision Tubing business unit is delivering underbody fluid lines - Hycot tubes - for the new A6 from their dedicated plant in Tønder, Denmark.
Today's new generation diesel engines are more powerful, more refined and more pleasant to drive. They are also more economical and less harmful to the environment. A contributor for this improvement is the change in fuel injection technology, which increases fuel injection pressure.
 COOLER: Audi is the first customer to buy Hydro's fuel cooler system, for use in its new A6.
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As a result of this increased pressure, however, the temperature of the diesel fuel in the return line rises from approximately 80°C to 110°C, and since many of the plastic parts in the fuel system are able only to withstand temperatures up to approximately 80°C, it was necessary to develop a cooler that could lower the fuel temperature in the return line.
Hydro has achieved that with aluminium - and Audi is the first customer to buy the system, now for use in its new A6.
"With our diesel fuel cooler concept, Hydro Aluminium Precision Tubing has set a standard for efficient and economic fuel cooling in high-performance diesel engines," says Michael Schäfer, who is key account responsible for Audi in the Precision Tubing organization.
In addition, the sector's Castings business unit delivers the aluminium cylinder heads for the A6 model's V-6 version. Similarly, Hydro Aluminium supplies the cylinder heads for virtually all the V-6 and V-8 engines that Audi uses in its passenger vehicles.
The 74th Geneva International Motor Show ends on March 14.
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