Audi engineers who have contributed to making vehicle frames lighter and safer through the use of aluminium were presented with an European Inventor of the Year award.

The award, handed out by the European patent office recognised the work the Audi team did to enable the development of lighter and safer frames.

Norbert Enning, Ulrich Klages, Heinrich Timm, Gundolf Keris, Alois Feldschmid, Christian Dornberg and Karl Reiter, did not merely replace steel with the ligher metal, they had to redesign the automotive frame.

The first aluminium frame was patented by Audi in 1993, with the A8 becoming the first mass produced all-aluminium body car. The team, which developed a frame in which parts supported each other, managed to cut out 17 per cent of the parts as well.

Benefits of the lighter frame, the effects of which prestige car hire customers benefit from, include better fuel efficiency, road handling and cornering.

The then-revolutionary concept also freed up designers to come up with a greater range of frames.

Click here to see our range of cars.