Designed for GTA Motor owner Domingo Ochoa by engineering director Sento Pallardó, the GTA Spano employs ACG tooling, automotive body panel system and high visual quality prepregs.
GTA decided to use material with a proven track record of successful application to manufacture the 99 units of the Spano.
“We selected ACG over other composite materials manufacturers for their excellent reputation in the motorsport sector, the wide range of materials (resins and reinforcement) available to us, and the fact that these could be fully tailored for a specific application," says Hugo Sosa, Designer and Head of Composites at GTA.
"ACG also provided outstanding technical customer support at the start of our Spano programme.”
ACG out-of-autoclave LTM®217 prepreg and LTF318B surfacing film have been selected for the tooling, BPS240 body panel system for the bodywork, and a combination of LTM®24ST and LTM®26EL high visual quality prepregs for the interior and exterior cosmetic trim panels of the Spano.
For high impact resistance in certain areas of the car, GTA Motor is using ACG VTM®264 resin system on a hybrid aramid/carbon reinforcement.
Prepregs tailored for specific applications
BPS240 is a two-ply, partially impregnated, oven/vacuum bag processing, epoxy prepreg system designed for the manufacture of body-in-white panels with excellent surface quality from vacuum-only processing at cure temperatures between 85-150°C.
The first ply utilises ACG ZPREG® partial impregnation technology, which consists of a structural fabric coupled to a surface scrim and a high performance resin system. The second ply combines low-density syntactic core material and structural fabric to create panel rigidity.
BPS240 is designed to be ready for painting with minimal preparation. ACG says that in many instances, paint can be applied directly to a degreased panel taken straight from the mould.
ACG LTM217 tooling prepreg offers GTA Motor the ability to manufacture affordable, high temperature capable composite tooling. LTF318B surfacing film, used in conjunction with the prepreg, employs ZPREG selective impregnation technology to achieve a high quality surface finish on composite mould tools manufactured via low pressure, vacuum bag processing.
For cosmetic applications requiring a UV stable, high quality surface finish, GTA Motor selected ACG out of autoclave LTM24ST, a controlled rheology resin matrix which is used for the surfacing ply of components moulded from LTM26EL prepreg. LTM24ST surface ply is partially impregnated to give asymmetric tack, and promotes a flaw-free, smooth surface and a low void content laminate under oven/vacuum bag moulding conditions.
GTA Motor cured the cosmetic trim components via oven/vacuum bag processing, but LTM26EL can also be processed in an autoclave or by press moulding.
