strawtarget

I suppose this question is mostly aimed at Bracketracer who has lots of experience with Lambos and perhaps other rare cars built on tube frames.

As I understand it, a steel tube frame is light and rigid, but does not absorb collision energy in a beneficial way. In other words, if you hit something head-on, a lot of that energy is spent deforming the passenger "survival cell" because the frame in front of the cell is not "crushable".

Are there any ways around this? I know the latest generation supercars are being built on composite material monocoque chassis which are even ligher, more rigid, and safer. But the previous generation isn't that old.

I know safety isn't the #1 concern of a supercar manufacturer, but are there any neato engineering tricks they've developed to allow the nose of the car to absorb energy without deforming the passenger compartment?

TTP

tubes have tensile strength and not shear strength. The placement of the tubes is as much a factor as its material.