procon-ten (lower case initial "p") (an acronym for Programmed Contraction-Tension) is a proprietary Safety Restraint System (SRS), used by German car manufacturer Audi from 1986 until the mid-1990s.
Audi was one of the last German manufacturers to employ airbags in their cars, mainly due to the high reliability and cost-effectiveness of the technology they trademarked as "procon-ten".
The procon-ten system used thick cables, similar to winch cables, running around the rear of the engine, and linked to it. In the event of a frontal impact, the force and momentum of the impact would shift the engine rearwards, tensioning and 'pulling' the cables, which were in turn connected to the steering column and seat belt mounts. When the cable was pulled tight by the engine, the cables would pull the steering wheel towards the front of the car, clear of the driver, and also remove any slack in the seat belts, holding the occupants more firmly in their seats until the accident had finished.
Audi engines are by tradition mounted longitudinally, in front of the front wheels, as opposed to transverse, with but a few exceptions in more recent models. This meant the engine was close to the front bumper, (especially on 5 cylinder variants) that the radiator often had to be offset to halfway down one side of the engine bay. One advantage of this technique is that the engine is one of the first things to be struck in a frontal impact, taking much of the force, and allowing for high responsiveness of the procon-ten system.
The procon-ten system was available for cars such as the 100 / 200 and the V8, as well as the 80 / 90. It was discontinued in 1994, with the introduction of the new A4 and A8 series, and the 100-based Audi A6, all in 1994, for the 1995 model year.
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It can reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the interior of the vehicle.
A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researchers, automobile and aircraft manufacturers to predict the injuries a person might sustain in a crash. Modern dummies are usually instrumented to record data such as velocity of impact, crushing force, bending, folding, or torque of the body, and deceleration rates during a collision.
Crumple zones, crush zones, or crash zones are a structural safety feature used in vehicles, mainly in automobiles, to increase the time over which a change in velocity occurs from the impact during a collision by a controlled deformation; in recent years, it is also incorporated into trains and railcars.
Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle.
The Audi 80 is a compact executive car produced by the Audi subdivision of the Volkswagen Group across four generations from 1966 to 1996. It shared its platform with the Volkswagen Passat from 1973 to 1986 and was available as a saloon, and station wagon — the latter marketed by Audi as the Avant. The coupé and convertible models were not badged as members of the range but used a derivative of the same platforms.
The Audi A2 (internally designated Typ 8Z) is a compact MPV-styled supermini car, with a five-door hatchback body style and four or five seats, produced by the German manufacturer Audi from November 1999 (for the 2000 model year) to August 2005. Based on the Audi Al2 concept car first shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1997, the A2 was notable for being constructed from aluminium, which in combination with its efficient engines, made it an extremely economical car on fuel.
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The Chrysler Concorde is a full-size, front wheel drive four-door sedan that was produced by Chrysler from 1992 to 2004. It assumed the C-body Chrysler New Yorker Salon's position as the entry-level full-size sedan in the Chrysler brand lineup. One of Chrysler's three original Chrysler LH platform models, it used revolutionary cab forward design.
The Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) was the third generation of the Volkswagen Transporter and was marketed under various nameplates worldwide – including the Transporter or Caravelle in Europe, T25 in the UK, Microbus in South Africa, and Vanagon in North and South America.
The Audi V8 is a four-door, full-size luxury sedan, built by Audi in Germany from 1988 to 1993, as the company's flagship model. It was the first car from Audi to use a V8 engine, and also the first Audi to combine a quattro system with an automatic transmission. Early cars used 3.6-litre V8s, while later cars featured a 4.2-litre version of the engine. The Audi V8 was replaced by the Audi A8 in 1994, although the A8 was not sold in North America until 1996.
The Volvo 440 and 460 are versions of a small family car produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo between 1987 and 1996. The 440 was introduced in 1987, whilst the 460 followed in 1989. They were built at the NedCar factory in Born, the Netherlands. The 440 was a five-door front wheel drive hatchback and the 460 a saloon.
The Audi S4 is the high performance variant of Audi's compact executive car A4. The original Audi S4, built from 1991 until 1994, was a performance-oriented version of Audi's 100 saloon/sedan. All subsequent S4s since 1997 have been based on the Audi A4; and as the A4 has evolved from one generation to the next, so has the S4.
The Audi RS 6 is a high-performance variant of the Audi A6 range, produced by the high-performance subsidiary company Audi Sport GmbH, for its parent company Audi AG, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, from 2002 onwards.
The Volvo VESC, the Volvo Experimental Safety Car, was a concept car made by Volvo to showcase a number of innovative passenger safety features. It was unveiled in 1972 at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Audi RS 4 is the high-performance variant of the Audi A4 range produced by Audi Sport GmbH for AUDI AG, a division of the Volkswagen Group. It sits above the Audi S4 as the fastest, most sports-focused car based on the A4's "B" automobile platform. The RS 4 was reintroduced in 2012, based on the A4 Avant instead of the sedan as did the original model.
The automotive steering column is a device intended primarily for connecting the steering wheel to the steering mechanism.
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system, or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its basic form, a forward collision warning system monitors a vehicle's speed, the speed of the vehicle in front of it, and the distance between the vehicles, so that it can provide a warning to the driver if the vehicles get too close, potentially helping to avoid a crash. Various technologies and sensors that are used include radar (all-weather) and sometimes laser (LIDAR) and cameras to detect an imminent crash. GPS sensors can detect fixed dangers such as approaching stop signs through a location database. Pedestrian detection can also be a feature of these types of systems.
The first generation Subaru Legacy is a mid-size family car / wagon developed by Fuji Heavy Industries. The Legacy was an all new model, and was considered a notable departure from Subaru products in the past.
The Audi RS 2 Avant, usually known as Audi 80 RS 2, was a limited edition, high-performance Audi five-door, five-seat estate car, manufactured from March 1994 to July 1995. Collaboratively designed as a joint venture between Audi AG and Porsche and built on Audi's 80 Avant, designated internally as P1. It was Audi's first "RS" vehicle, and the first of their high-performance Avants, and thus created the high performance station wagon segment; it used the most powerful and most thoroughly developed version of Audi's inline-five cylinder turbocharged engine.
The Audi R8 LMS Cup was a one-make sports car racing series by Audi based in Asia. Audi R8 LMS Cup cars were based on the Audi R8 LMS (GT3).