ThyssenKrupp Magazin

time that it is a car that is being created here. A wonderful example of
how the engineers pay heed to the material characteristics of aluminum
are the flow drill screws, which fix the floor sheets and are
handled by one of the two robots: an automatic screwdriver is attached
to its arm, and air pressure turns the screw securely into
place. It lets its top rotate on the sheet, which does not have any pilot
holes, creating temperatures of about 200 degrees Centigrade. As a
result, the aluminum softens, the screw enters the sheet, furrows into
the screw thread, and the electronic control system provides a torque
of exactly seven Newton-meters.
THE CAR BODY SHELL IS CHECKED PAINSTAKINGLY
The sheet metal specialists attach the car body shell to the frame: fender
by fender, panel by panel, the Lamborghini’s racy silhouette becomes
visible. Once again, a lot of riveting is carried out, but welding
torches also light their splicing fire on the light metal. Whatever seam it
leaves behind is initially filed away, and body specialists ensure the final
polish: Even the tiniest unevenness is sanded down; expert grinders
feel the surface carefully with their gloved hands and then use their
tools to remove miniscule amounts of excess aluminum. At last, a totally
even surface can be seen where only a short time before the seam
was still clearly visible.
After all these production steps, each body in white is checked
to ensure that all measurements are in line with Lamborghini’s specifications,
and to this end the future sports car is briefly lifted up and
TK Magazine | 1 | 2004 |
The Lamborghini Gallardo
is an undisputed star
on the streets and stradas
of this world. Five-hundred
horse power propel it to
100 km/h within just four
seconds; its lightweight
body helps, of course.
GALLARDO 73
fitted into the “teaching vehicle,” which meets the exact measurements.
Any deviations are adjusted – though this is rarely necessary
at this stage. Testing of the bodies becomes more sophisticated all
the time; already, a sophisticated sensor spends four hours feeling
thousands of points and comparing them to the computer data in the
measuring space.
But the Lamborghini torso is not yet complete: next stop is the finishing
process, where the body is polished to absolute evenness with a
very fine abrasive in a separate room with optimal lighting and a fine
dust extraction system. The people working here are at the very top of
their field, since not everyone can develop the sensitivity and visual
judgement necessary to determine where another trace of metal has to
be removed or where another very slight tap with a hammer is needed
to obtain the perfect surface. And one learns that “even” is sometimes
not even enough, for the first painting mercilessly exposes even the
smallest unevenness.
Confident at last that everything has been done so that another
Gallardo body will meet this exacting test, ThyssenKrupp Drauz ships
it to the paint shop at Audi, from where it will travel to a factory in
Sant’Agata in Italy. There, the Gallardo is fitted with its powerful motor
and everything else that is needed to make a true Italian sports car –
a vehicle that can perform brilliantly on the streets and stradas of this
world and look great doing it. A product of top technology and superior
craftsmanship all packed inside a visually stunning, aluminum
body. 7