A car with the VAZ 2116 index (see ЗР, 2006, No. 5) has to overcome the thorny path to mass production, many of its components will undergo modernization, and the exterior will change repeatedly. Only the internal elements that determine the power structure of the body will remain unchanged. Read - security.
If so, it is obvious that the unborn fate awaited the first-born. Namely, a crash test that will confirm or refute the results obtained by computer simulation. Yes, the passive safety of the new platform VAZ engineers attended to at the earliest stage of design. According to the creators, the new class C car should comply with European requirements, which will enter into force in 2010.
And now the prototype is being rolled out to its original position in the passive safety laboratory (officially - ODA PB). In the trunk of the recording equipment, in the cabin there are two “adult” mannequins in the front seats and two “children” in special rear seats. The rules of the game are as follows: a car and its crew are waiting for a frontal hit in a deformable obstacle with a 40 percent overlap at a speed of 64.9 km / h. The so-called EuroNCAP crash test simulating a head-on collision with another car.
Acceleration, blow, a pile of broken iron. But before giving an assessment, it is worth recalling - in our case, any result is positive: the more comments, the better. That's why prototypes and samples from experimental batches are being beaten so that production cars pass the crash test without a hitch.
It is all the more remarkable that the very first VAZ 2116 test was successfully overcome. The front of the body absorbed the shock and retained living space for passengers. Everyone, including the children, remained alive. The airbags worked out as they should, the windshield remained in the opening, the roof did not fold, and the doors after the accident were opened without the use of special equipment. Preliminary assessment of specialists - 15 points according to the EuroNCAP methodology. Good rate.
It is too early to publish details and figures, at this stage of designing this is information for official use. Specialists will analyze overload dummy data, evaluate body deformations and, based on the results of the first crash test, will prepare the next vehicle for the breakdown.
