Swansway Accident Repair Centre in Crewe has become the first UK specialist repair centre for the all new Audi R8 supercar with an investment of £80,000 in state-of-the-art technology.

The supercar is pushing the boundaries of auto-construction technology, with 13% of the vehicle constructed from carbon-fibre reinforced polymer, known as, CFRP. This material is light, yet has great strength and rigidity and is expected to make its way into vehicles across the Audi range in future years.

Swansway Group Director, David Smyth explained, “The new Audi R8 is a real leap forward in terms of construction; the introduction of CFRP as a major construction component brings with it the need for very specialist technicians to undertake the repairs”. He added, “Our Swansway Accident Repair Centre has one of only five technicians in the world, who’ve been trained, by Audi in Germany, Martin Smith who is qualified and trained to use the latest ultrasound scanning technology which is need to discern whether the integrity of the CFRP has been damaged.”

Body repairs to any new Audi R8 in the UK will be co-ordinated by the Swansway. Franco Iannotta, paint and body technical manager for VWG UK explained, “Due to the safety critical location of the CFRP content in the all new Audi R8, body repair work on the car must only be undertaken by an Audi Approved CFRP technician.”

Although most Irish bodyshops are unlikely to ever encounter a new R8, the news does reflect the increasing use of new and specialist materials in vehicle bodywork construction. It also clearly demonstrates that these new materials often require very different repair techniques and it is therefore vital that repairs adhere to manufacturer recommended repair methods.