EuroNCAP Demonstration

40% offset frontal crash test to demonstrate the NCAP test process

A EuroNCAP 40% offset frontal crash test, but using additional data logging channels to discover more about the performance characteristics of the vehicle's body.

The test was carried out on the latest version of the Fiat Punto as like the other leading cars in the supermini category it boasts a 5-star NCAP rating.

Although the EuroNCAP test procedure is quite detailed it was conceived as a tool to allow consumers to differentiate between different models; as such it need not show ‘how’ the vehicle delivers its crashworthiness.  The procedure is therefore relatively straightforward with minimal requirements for instrumentation.  By adding similar levels of instrumentation to the tests we conduct as part of our vehicle safety development programmes our engineers were able to gain a better understanding of what happens to the vehicle’s structure during an impact. This in turn enables them to understand ‘why’ the vehicle under test gained its particular NCAP rating.

Fourteen  high speed cameras were used to record the test from a range of external and internal camera angles.  A selection of the views can be seen here: