Thousands of testing sessions held in Milan during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in April 2012 led to Audi R18 Ultra Chair, a chair developed using methods borrowed from the future of automotive manufacturing. Designed by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram, in collaboration with Audi’s Lightweight Design Center, the sporty looking chair unveiled at Design Miami is made from carbon composites, carbon micro- sandwich and high strength aluminum and weighs only 2.2 kg or 77 ounces.
The product embodies Audi’s ultra lightweight design credo and was inspired by the R18 Ultra – the pace car for an entire technology: Audi ultra. Aluminum is a key material in Audi’s repertoire of lightweight design technologies: The chair’s legs are made of folded sheet aluminum, welded by an industrial robot using a cold metal transfer process.
