Inkjet & Digital Printing

Imperia GP Roadster – History reinterpreted

Thursday 13. June 2013 - There will be a little bit of voxeljet technology in every Imperia GT retro-roadster. Using trend-setting hybrid technology, this Belgian eco-sports car combines pure driving fun with a clear conscience.

A hybrid engine with 350 HP and outstanding torque helps the Imperia achieve the driving values of a super sports car. It only takes four seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h. And that’s only the beginning: The roadster also boasts sensationally low levels of CO2 emissions at 50 grams per kilometer.
The firm behind this technical innovation is Lüttich-based Green Propulsion, which has already brought several hybrid vehicle concepts to series readiness. For marketing the new roadster, the three company founders Yves Toussaint, Nicolas Naniot and Bernard Loly resurrected the Belgian automobile brand Imperia, which produced a vehicle with a fuel-electric motor as early as 1907.
Resurrection of a legend
The Imperia GP Roadster is the resurrection of a legend with entirely new technology. It derives its power from a 1.6 litre turbo gasoline engine with 200 HP, and an electric motor with an output of 150 HP. It also features an in-house developed gear unit with 4×2 gears. The production of the gear unit required some creativity, given the lack of large-series products available from suppliers’ shelves.
But anyone developing innovative vehicles also knows a few innovative development partners. Hence the Imperia developers turned to French foundry Sicta, which specialises in the production of aluminium die casting prototypes. It looked to 3D printing as the solution for manufacturing the required sand moulds.
After the initial discussions with voxeljet’s service centre, everyone agreed: The Augsburg 3D experts would be the right partner for this ambitious project. Within a few days, a voxeljet high-performance printer created the first sand moulds for a prototype gear unit.
The quality of the moulds fully met the foundry’s expectations, so that Sicta was able to send the first gearboxes to the Imperia team only three weeks after receiving the order. This is a big step towards bringing the legend back to life.