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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 1 9 Alcoa in 1967 for use in beverage can lids. As an automotive alloy, it remains the highest formability alloy available and is used for difficult and complex in- ner closure parts such as door inners and liftgate inners. However, its high Mg content can make it susceptible to stress corrosion cracking under certain conditions, so it is not typically used for structural applications. Looking at the narrow hood of the 928, one can only wonder if this is not one of those rare instances in which manufacturing considerations trumped engineering and design: Alusingen’s line was narrow and there was a hulk- ing V8 under that hood. Servicing the engine surely would have been easier with cut lines similar to the earlier 914. The aftermath of the Yom Kippur War briefly delayed the program devel- opment, and it was only on March 17, 1977, that Ferry Porsche introduced the 928 at the Geneva Motor Show. Few would have predicted that it heralded the start of a new era in aluminum auto body sheet with the European launch of two alloys still in use today. Alusu- isse applied for a patent for the produc- tion method behind Ac-120 on March 31 of the same year. Interestingly, it does not mention automotive applications, only cans. Its registration as alloy 6016 would have to wait until 1984. ~AM&P For more information: Laurent Chap- puis, president, Light Metal Consultants LLC, 8600 Church Rd., Grosse Ile, MI 48138, lbchappuis@icloud.com . Selected References 1. Panhard information and photos courtesy of David Beare from “Panhard, the Flat-Twin Cars 1945-1967 and Their Origins,” Stinkwheel Publishing, 2017. 2. Written reminiscence of Jacques Peyraud, “L’AU2G Et La Carrosserie Automobile,” accession 103.01, cour- tesy of the Institute for the History of Aluminum, France. 3. Written communications and docu- mentation from the archives of Con- stellium’s Technology Center, Voreppe, France, courtesy of Tim Warner and Ingrid Jörg. 4. SAE Paper 740077, Development of Aluminum Alloys for Body Sheet, W.A. Anderson, et al., 1974 SAE Congress. 5. D. LaChance, Tour de Force – 1961 Citroën DS 19, March 2006, https:// www.hemmings.com/magazine/hsx/ 2006/03/Tour-de-Force---1961-Citro- euml-n-DS-19/1282204.html 6. D. Wooley, DS Features – Automo- tive Pre-imminence, https://citroen- vie.com/ds-features-automotive-pre- imminence. 7. Written and oral communication with Jürgen Timm, Novelis, regarding the history of Ac-120. 8. M. Bloeck and J. Timm, Aluminium Car Body Sheet of the AlMgSi Series, Aluminium, Vol 70, 1994. 9. A New 6xxxx Series Aluminium Car Body Sheet Alloy, Rodrigues, Alusuisse Research & Development, ISME Annual Conference, Sheet Metal Technology Group Programme, Banbury, Oct. 1983. 10. Patent DE 27 14 395 A1, Priority date: Dec. 24, 1976, filed March 31, 1977, titled “Verfahren zur Hestellung von gut verformbaren zipfelarmen Aluminiumblechen mit hoher mecha- nischer Festigkeit, E. Jung, G. Schmidt- Nilson, Schweizerische Aluminium AG, Chippis, (Schweiz). 11. Range Rover image by Nick Dimble- by, courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover. 12. A. Severson, Porsche Before Its Time: The Porsche 928, Ate Up With Motor, April 18, 2009, https:// ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/ porsche-928.