This method of construction is more technically complex to engineer and build, but it affords the opportunity for considerable weight savings as compared to constructing a body and then mounting it to a separate structural frame. Unibody is short for unit body or unitized body-meaning the body, floorboards, and major chassis structural support and crash-protection elements are welded, bonded, molded, or somehow joined into a single structural element. Countless EVs from the Tesla Roadster and Model S onward have used some approximation of the skateboard chassis concept. The low-profile nature of electric motors and batteries lend themselves to this idea, and GM was an early proponent of it with the 2002 AUTOnomy concept that integrated a fuel cell, hydrogen tanks, and batteries into a rolling chassis propelled by four in-wheel motors (it was shown with a body in 2003's Hy-Wire concept). Body-on-frame construction is poised for a resurgence in passenger vehicles with the new skateboard chassis concept: a low-profile chassis that fully integrates the powertrain and suspension, to which various bodies can be attached.This design replaced the X-frame to underpin most full-size American cars for many years, ending with the 2012 Ford Crown Victoria. This gave rise to the perimeter frame concept, in which the framerails curve outboard between the tires to encompass the seating positions.Many American cars of the 1950s employed an X-frame design wherein the structural rails converge in the middle of the car, but this design provides little or no structural side impact protection.Volkswagen's iconic Beetle called this design "body on pan," and Mercedes called it a "frame floor" on its "ponton" models of the '50s and '60s. The platform frame was a concept that unitized structural floor panels with the framerails for added stiffness.MotorTrend Car of the Year guest judge Chris Theodore has also patented a UniChassis backbone design tailored to low-volume specialty production. Austrian engineer Hans Ledwinka also championed it at Czechoslovakia's Tatra starting with the 1923 Tatra T11, and the design is still in use on today's Tatra heavy trucks. Britain's 1904 Rover 8hp and France's 1909 Simplicia were early adopters of this idea.
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An early dramatic departure was the backbone chassis, featuring a rigid spine that connected the front and rear suspension frames, one of which supported the powertrain.This design is still in use in most full-size pickups and SUVs and virtually all medium- and heavy-duty work trucks.
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F1 CAR BODY DESIGN SERIES