How It's Made: Dream Cars

Narrator: TODAY ON "HOW IT'S MADE: DREAM CARS" --

THE LUCRA LC470, A LIGHTWEIGHT SUPER CAR

WITH HEAVYWEIGHT POWER.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Narrator: BELIEVE IT OR NOT, EVEN THOUGH THE LUCRA LC470

HOUSES A POWERFUL V8 ENGINE,

THANKS TO CAREFUL DESIGN CHOICES,

IT WEIGHS LESS THAN 2,000 POUNDS.

ONE OF THOSE DESIGN CHOICES WAS THE DECISION TO MAKE

THE ENTIRE BODY OUT OF CARBON FIBER,

WHICH ONLY WEIGHS ABOUT 200 POUNDS.

THE COMPONENTS OF THE LC470 ARE ALSO MADE OF

AVIATION GRADE MATERIAL,

RIGHT DOWN TO THE WIRES AND BOLTS.

THIS RESULTS AT AN EXCEPTIONAL COMBINATION OF LIGHTNESS,

STRENGTH, AND DURABILITY.

LUCRA CARS WAS FOUNDED BY CAR ENTHUSIAST LUKE RICHARDS

IN 2006.

HIS GOAL WAS TO BUILD THE PERFECT SPORTS CAR.

IN ESSENCE, HE WANTED TO FIND A WAY TO COMBINE

THE AGILITY OF EUROPEAN SPORTS CARS

WITH THE MUSCLE OF AMERICAN V8s.

WHEN A CUSTOMER BUYS A LUCRA,

RICHARD TAKES THEM TO A RACE TRACK

TO INTRODUCE THE DRIVER TO THE CAR.

Narrator: A CLEVER STRUCTURAL DESIGN

ALLOWED RICHARDS AND HIS TEAM TO PLACE THE ENGINE

NEAR THE CENTER OF THE CAR.

THIS ACHIEVED A WEIGHT BALANCE OF 53% REAR AND 47% FRONT

FOR AN IDEAL COMBINATION OF TRACTION AND HANDLING.

THE CHASSIS DESIGN IS THE KEY

TO THIS OPTIMAL WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION.

KNOWN AS A PERIMETER CHASSIS,

INSTEAD OF RUNNING UNDER THE ENGINE

AND THE PASSENGERS, IT WRAPS AROUND THEM.

THIS MEANS THE DESIGNERS COULD POSITION THE ENGINE BLOCK

AND THE SEATS WHEREVER THEY WANTED

TO BEST ACCOMMODATE THE DYNAMICS OF THE CAR.

THE CHASSIS IS CONSTRUCTED OF D.O.M. STEEL TUBING.

LUCRA USES C.N.C. MACHINES TO PRECISION CUT

AND BEND THE TUBING BEFORE CLAMPING IT IN A JIG.

SINCE THE CHASSIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE CAR,

IT MUST BE ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS.

EVEN THE JIG WAS DIGITALLY DESIGNED AND CUT

TO PREVENT MANUFACTURING ERRORS.

THE WELDING PROCESS CAN WARP A STRUCTURE OUT OF SHAPE

UNLESS IT'S SECURED.

THE JIG KEEPS EVERY COMPONENT RIGIDLY IN PLACE

AS THE WELDER WORKS.

REMARKABLY, LUCRA BUILDS THE MAIN BODY OF THE CAR

IN ONE SHOT.

THEY PLACE A 3-LAYER LAMINATE OF CARBON FIBER

INSIDE A ONE-PIECE MOLD AND LET IT CURE.

WHEN REMOVED FROM THE MOLD,

THE RESULT IS AN EXTRAORDINARILY STRONG RIGID STRUCTURE

THAT COULD ALMOST FUNCTION AS A MONOCOQUE CHASSIS ON ITS OWN.

A TECHNICIAN PREPARES TO CREATE APERTURES

FOR THE DASHBOARD COMPONENTS

BY ATTACHING A LASER CUT ALUMINUM TEMPLATE.

HE THEN USES IT AS A GUIDE TO CAREFULLY DRILL OUT

ALL THE NECESSARY HOLES AND GUIDE POINTS.

NEXT, HE SCRIBES THE PERIMETER OF ALL THE OPENINGS

WITH A SHARP POINT.

THE FINISHED DASHBOARD WILL FEATURE MINIMAL COMPONENTS.

THE LC470 HAS NONE OF

THOSE DISTRACTING 21st CENTURY ACCESSORIES

LIKE G.P.S. NAVIGATION, BLUETOOTH CONNECTIVITY,

OR U.S.B. PORTS.

THE WORKER NOW UNSCREWS THE ATTACHMENT POINTS

AND REMOVES THE TEMPLATE,

REVEALING THE SCRIBE TRANSFER OF THE DASHBOARD DESIGN.

IT'S READY FOR THE FINAL STEP.

THE CENTER HOLES THAT HE DRILLED EARLIER

PROVIDE A GUIDE FOR THE TECHNICIAN'S HOLE SAW.

THE CARBON FIBER IS EXTREMELY HARD,

SO HE MUST EXERT CONSIDERABLE FORCE TO CUT EACH HOLE.

AT THE SAME TIME, HE MUST BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL.

SINCE THE DASHBOARD IS PART OF THE ONE-PIECE BODY,

HE'S ONLY GOT ONE SHOT AT DOING IT RIGHT.

NEXT, THE BODY MEETS THE CHASSIS.

RATHER THAN A FEW ATTACHMENT POINTS,

EVERY PART OF THE CHASSIS PERIMETER BONDS DIRECTLY

TO THE CAR'S BODY.

LUCRA STARTS BY RIVETING THE CARBON FIBER TO THE STEEL,

THEN WRAPS EVERY JOINT IN MORE CARBON FIBER

TO COMPLETELY FUSE THE BODY TO THE CHASSIS.

Narrator: TO MAKE THE COMPLEX EXHAUST SYSTEM,

LUCRA WORKS WITH A COMPANY THAT SPECIALIZES

IN DOING JUST THAT --

MagnaFlow OF OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA.

THE EXHAUST IS KEY TO THE CAR'S PERFORMANCE,

SO IT HAS TO BE DONE RIGHT.

HERE, THEY USE PRECISION EQUIPMENT DIGITALLY PROGRAMMED

TO MAKE PERFECT BENDS IN THE TUBING.

MagnaFlow USES STAINLESS STEEL TUBING

TO MAKE THE LUCRA LC470 EXHAUST HEADER.

THIS IS BECAUSE STAINLESS STEEL IS RUSTPROOF,

EASY TO KEEP CLEAN, AND CAPABLE OF ENDURING

THE SUPER HOT TEMPERATURES OF THE EXHAUST GASES.

SPECIALIZED GAUGES TEST EVERY PARAMETER

OF EACH SECTION OF TUBING TO ENSURE IT'S FLAWLESS.

FOR THE LC470, MagnaFlow BUILDS A COMPONENT

KNOWN AS AN EXHAUST HEADER RATHER THAN A MANIFOLD.

A HEADER IS DESIGNED TO MAKE THE EXHAUST GASES FLOW

AT A SPEED THAT HELPS OPTIMIZE THE OUTPUT OF THE ENGINE.

IN A SENSE, THE EXHAUST HEADER HELPS THE ENGINE BREATHE

MORE EFFICIENTLY.

A LASER CUTTING MACHINE QUICKLY ETCHES OUT

THE FLANGES FOR THE HEADER.

THE HOLES IN THE FLANGES MUST PRECISELY MATCH

THE DIAMETER OF THE TUBES.

IN FACT, THE DIAMETER OF THE HEADER PIPE

IS A KEY TO ITS PERFORMANCE.

THE DESIGNERS MATCH THE DIAMETER TO THE ENGINE'S CAPACITY.

THE OPTIMAL DIAMETER,

TOGETHER WITH THE SMOOTH BENDS IN THE PIPES,

HELP MAXIMIZE AIRFLOW.

BUT PERHAPS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT TO THE AIRFLOW

IS THE FACT THAT WITH THE HEADER,

EACH CYLINDER HAS ITS OWN PIPE.

A SKILLED WELDER CLAMPS THE PIPES INTO A CUSTOM JIG

AND GOES TO WORK.

THIS STYLE OF HEADER IS KNOWN AS AN EQUAL LENGTH HEADER.

THAT MEANS THAT EACH OF THE PIPES

IS EXACTLY THE SAME LENGTH.

THIS FEATURE ENSURES THAT ALL THE CYLINDERS

WORK WITH EQUAL EFFICIENCY.

MAKING SURE THAT ALL THOSE PIPES HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME LENGTH,

AND SIMULTANEOUSLY FIT AROUND EACH OTHER IN A TIGHT SPACE,

IS NO EASY FEAT.

OF COURSE, THE HEADER IS JUST ONE COMPONENT

OF THE EXHAUST SYSTEM.

IN THIS SECTION OF THEIR FACILITY,

MagnaFlow CONSTRUCTS MUFFLERS FROM GIANT ROLLS

OF STAINLESS STEEL SHEETING.

A MASSIVE PRESS PRESTAMPS THE STEEL

WITH THE MagnaFlow COMPANY LOGO AT REGULAR INTERVALS.

THIS CONTINUOUS SHEET WILL BE USED TO FORM

THE VISIBLE ELEMENT OF THE MUFFLERS.

NEXT, A POWERFUL CUTTING MACHINE EASILY CHOPS THE SHEET

TO THE REQUIRED SIZE.

A CAREFULLY CALIBRATED ROLLING DEVICE FORMS THE SHEETS

TO EXACTLY THE RIGHT CURVE DIAMETER TWO AT A TIME.

MagnaFlow WILL USE THESE NEWLY FORMED CYLINDERS

TO MAKE THE OUTER LAYER OF THE MUFFLERS.

AS THE CYLINDERS LEAVE THE ROLLING MACHINE,

A WELDING HEAD TRAVELS ALONG THE TRACK UNDERNEATH THEM

TO FUSE THEM SHUT WITH THE WELDED SEAM.

A CONVEYOR SYSTEM THEN ARRIVES TO WHISK THEM AWAY

TO THE NEXT STAGE OF PRODUCTION.

AT THE CORE OF THE MUFFLER IS A PERFORATED LENGTH

OF STAINLESS STEEL PIPE.

A WORKER PLACES ONE IN A SPINNING DEVICE

THAT TURNS THE CORE ON ITS AXIS.

THIS ALLOWS THE WORKER TO QUICKLY AND EASILY

WRAP THE LENGTH IN STAINLESS STEEL MESH.

AT THE NEXT STATION,

A WORKER SURROUNDS THE WRAPPED CORE IN A LAYER OF MINERAL WOOL.

BOTH THE MINERAL WOOL AND THE STEEL MESH

CAN WITHSTAND HIGH MUFFLER TEMPERATURES.

A COMPRESSION DEVICE SQUEEZES THE WOOL AROUND THE CORE,

AND THEN INSERTS THE ASSEMBLY INSIDE THE EXTERIOR CYLINDER.

A WORKER THEN SLIDES THE HEAVY GAUGE STAINLESS STEEL END CAPS

OVER THE SECTIONS OF THE CORE

THAT EXTEND BEYOND THE OUTER CYLINDER.

HE USES A METAL WORKING HAMMER TO TAP THEM GENTLY INTO PLACE.

HE THEN REMOVES THE PROTECTIVE FILM OF PLASTIC

TO PREPARE THE NEWLY FORMED MUFFLER

FOR THE FINAL WELDING PROCESS.

A ROBOT TRANSFERS THE MUFFLER TO THE FINAL WELDING STATION.

TO DAMPEN SOUND, CONVENTIONAL MUFFLERS

USE A HIGHLY EFFICIENT TECHNIQUE CALLED REFLECTION,

WHICH ROUTES THE EXHAUST THROUGH A SYSTEM OF BAFFLES.

BUT REFLECTION ALSO SLOWS DOWN THE ESCAPING GASES

CAUSING SOMETHING KNOWN AS BACK PRESSURE,

WHICH DIMINISHES ENGINE PERFORMANCE.

SO FOR A SUPER CAR LIKE THE LUCRA LC470,

MagnaFlow USES A DIFFERENT TECHNIQUE CALLED ABSORPTION.

THE SOUND PENETRATES THROUGH THE PERFORATED STEEL CORE

AND IS PARTIALLY ABSORBED BY THE STEEL MESH

AND MINERAL WOOL.

WHILE THE EXHAUST NODE TENDS TO BE LOUDER,

THERE'S LITTLE BACK PRESSURE TO DIMINISH ENGINE PERFORMANCE.

Narrator: IN 21st CENTURY CARS,