Italian fine car manufacturer Pagani is to work with Conflux Technology, putting its 3D printed heat exchangers on board the Pagani Utopia.The Utopia Roadster starts at over $2 million, while the Coupe is $3.4 million.Midway between a work of art and an automobile, the Utopia has a V12-powered, 6 liter Mercedes AMG engine and a 7-speed Xtrac gearbox.
Production will be limited to 100 Roadsters and 130 Coupes, so Conflux won’t sell a lot of AM heat exchangers this way.However, Pagani is widely followed, and with exquisite attention to detail and engineering, it has a considerable following.Conflux developed a custom heat exchanger for Pagani.
The 3D printed one is 30% more efficient than a conventional model.According to Conflux CEO Michael Fuller, “It’s an incredible privilege to contribute to the creation of groundbreaking vehicles for industry leaders like Pagani.Our advanced heat exchangers are designed to enable new levels of effectiveness, perfectly complementing the engineering craftsmanship that Pagani is celebrated for.
This collaboration showcases the synergy of precision, innovation, and excellence.” Oliver Nixon, Head of High Performance Automotive at Xtrac, stated, “The innovation of Conflux’s technology has allowed Xtrac to continue to push the boundaries of transmission performance, whilst maintaining the lightweight, motorsport derived ethos of our transmission solutions.” With better heat rejection, and total amount of heat exchanged between the two different sides of the heat exchanger, more automakers are sure to take an interest in Conflux’s offering.Pagani tested the 3D printed heat exchangers extensively, using up to eight full-sized prototypes over several years.The company is known for meticulous finishing on parts as small as bolts, to ensure both precision and heart-pounding performance.
Marketing-wise therefore, this is an excellent move for Conflux.Francesco Perini, Head of the Technical Department at Pagani, said, “Conflux’s advanced heat transfer technology empowers the Pagani Utopia to achieve superior heat rejection ensuring optimal thermal balance, even in severe driving conditions.In our relentless pursuit of perfection, every detail matters.
Conflux’s cartridge heat exchangers are a testament to precision and innovation, playing a vital role in ensuring that the Utopia can be enjoyed for a romantic drive on the French Riviera as well as on the most demanding tracks.” The custom, low-volume, unique, one-off, and hypercar segment is a beaming point of light in the automobile industry.Custom Rolls, Bentley, Porsche, Koeningsegg, and other cars already include 3D printed components.The volumes are low but prices are astronomical, meaning that this high-end segment can be extremely profitable as well.
Where previously, Volkswagen used all the Golf buyers to subsidize the Veyron—reportedly to the tune of 2.5 million on top of a $2 million sticker price car—companies have now changed tack.A small number of well-marketed cars with unique styling and cachet can now command prices up to $20 million per vehicle.Using both 3D printing and conventional technologies, smaller production runs can now be more radical and profitable as well.
Perhaps Conflux wishes to be on all of the Toyota Camrys of the world.And maybe, given enough time, they’ll get there.But, I always council people against working with large-volume car manufacturers.
They’ll crush you on price, like a stone on your chest, year after year.It takes ages to get a product on a platform, and you can get kicked out in an instant.Sure, we’d love to print all of the engines, or a lot of chassis components, but the regular car business just isn’t a nice place to be right now.
So this kind of high-end work, close to Conflux’s F1 origins, is not only an extremely comfortable place, but also one that could be profitable.Every year, car models are shorter in lifespan and have more variants.Every single Mini or Passat could be completely unique, thanks to the multitude of options available.
New Chinese brands and niche models and brands are shaking up the sector.Along with the shift to electrification, the industry is up for grabs.Perhaps in the future, Conflux can scale up, enabling higher volume production.
But for now, hypercars and sportier vehicles sound like a nice place to be and grow.Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.Print Services Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
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