4 ms·

Does anyone have a sense of how much legacy automotive technology is valuable in bringing a new electric vehicle to market? The chassis on a Tesla looks like a

Does anyone have a sense of how much legacy automotive technology is valuable in bringing a new electric vehicle to market? The chassis on a Tesla looks like an aluminum box... quite unlike a typical car chassis.

loceng 10y ago
I imagine it's the brand name of McLaren, and their engineering and design culture that is what makes this an attractive acquisition.
tech2 10y ago
Handling, balance, engineering for structural rigidity, materials science, network effects (knowing who and how to deal with), aerodynamics, etc. Cars aren't built by standalone coach builders and haven't been for decades (unless you're Morgan... :) ). Relationships with a large number of third parties are likely par for the course these days. Just because the chassis is different doesn't mean the rest of the system gets thrown out the window (significantly changed, perhaps, but I spect there's a lot of knowledge that's still in play).
ynniv 10y ago
"Atypical" isn't atypical to McLaren: http://www.motortrend.com/news/mclaren-four-new-models/#2012-mclaren-mp4-12c-chassis-front-three-quarter-3 http://www.motortrend.com/news/mclaren-four-new-models/#2012...
linksnapzz 10y ago
Aluminum monocoque construction has been done for production performance cars by various makes for better than twenty years now. Audi, Honda, Ferrari etc. I wonder where people get this idea that 100+ years of automotive engineering know-how is somehow invalidated by powering the car w/ a battery. "Legacy" indeed.
- grandalf 10y ago
  Well, I'd think that in terms of the overall complexity of the device, there would be a complexity ratio of roughly: 100:10:1 for gasoline engine: suspension: everything else.
  - linksnapzz 10y ago
    Complexity as defined as the number of discrete components, sure. Complexity as measured as engineering man-hours, I'm not so sure. The time that body engineers spend on FEA, CFD, tooling & welding design, paint & trim, finishing...even without a new engine and transmission, there's reasons why a new vehicle is a ten-figure outlay.

loceng 10y ago

I imagine it's the brand name of McLaren, and their engineering and design culture that is what makes this an attractive acquisition.

tech2 10y ago

Handling, balance, engineering for structural rigidity, materials science, network effects (knowing who and how to deal with), aerodynamics, etc. Cars aren't built by standalone coach builders and haven't been for decades (unless you're Morgan... :) ). Relationships with a large number of third parties are likely par for the course these days. Just because the chassis is different doesn't mean the rest of the system gets thrown out the window (significantly changed, perhaps, but I spect there's a lot of knowledge that's still in play).

ynniv 10y ago

"Atypical" isn't atypical to McLaren: http://www.motortrend.com/news/mclaren-four-new-models/#2012-mclaren-mp4-12c-chassis-front-three-quarter-3 http://www.motortrend.com/news/mclaren-four-new-models/#2012...

linksnapzz 10y ago

Aluminum monocoque construction has been done for production performance cars by various makes for better than twenty years now. Audi, Honda, Ferrari etc. I wonder where people get this idea that 100+ years of automotive engineering know-how is somehow invalidated by powering the car w/ a battery. "Legacy" indeed.

grandalf 10y ago
Well, I'd think that in terms of the overall complexity of the device, there would be a complexity ratio of roughly: 100:10:1 for gasoline engine: suspension: everything else.
- linksnapzz 10y ago
  Complexity as defined as the number of discrete components, sure. Complexity as measured as engineering man-hours, I'm not so sure. The time that body engineers spend on FEA, CFD, tooling & welding design, paint & trim, finishing...even without a new engine and transmission, there's reasons why a new vehicle is a ten-figure outlay.