The transition from conventional hardware-based development to virtual method-supported design engineering is vitally important for the automotive industry. The goal is not to revolutionise the existing development process by a completely new digital process, but to juxtapose the two and aim for an evolution using the best of both worlds depending on the task at hand.

More stringent demands on subjects like safety, consumption optimisation, comfort and durability require the bundling of resources not only by OEMs. After all, who can achieve all this alone, considering the current market conditions. In addition, the simulation methods on the fast HLRS computers must deliver their advantages in terms of speed and costs to the full, especially in the early stages of development.

Our focus is on these ambitious main goals:

• In the short-term there will be a systematic identification of existing methodical shortcomings in the applied digital prototypes.
• In the medium term CAE simulation has to be extended to the entire “product life cycle“.
• Finally, our long-term goal is the complete numerical modelling and optimization of the entire vehicle on a digital basis.