The 1994 Audi A8 was the first mass-produced car built with an aluminum space frame.
Audi introduced the A8 as the successor to the Audi V8, using an aluminum-intensive structure called Audi Space Frame, or ASF. Instead of relying on a conventional steel unibody, the design used aluminum extrusions, castings, and panels joined into a rigid space frame.
The aim was to reduce weight while preserving strength and stiffness. Lower mass could improve acceleration, fuel economy, braking, and handling. Aluminum construction also required different manufacturing methods, because joining and repairing aluminum differed from established steel-car practice.
The A8 was not the first automobile ever to use aluminum. Earlier racing cars and limited-production road cars had used the material. Its distinction was bringing a sophisticated aluminum space-frame structure to a high-volume luxury production model. Later Audi models adopted related ASF principles.