B Stead

To begin the subject, there are two cars with an aluminum chassis and SMC bodywork. That's the Corvette and the Lotus Evora.

This is the Corvette chassis :

http://www.sae.org/servlets/dlymags/....jpg&alttxt=C7 Corvette structure.jpg

http://www.sae.org/servlets/dlymags/....jpg&alttxt=C7 A-pillar detail.JPG


Then this view shows the one-piece frame channel from front-suspension-to-rocker-panel-to-rear-suspension actually tieing into something bigger at the rear :



And then this link explains the concept of bulkheads (but here as castings) holding frame channels (and this is how Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, recent production Ford GT's, and Audi R8's are built and bulkheads are how carbon fiber tubs work):

http://www.sae.org/mags/aei/11744/

This link explains the SMC bodywork :

http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/n..._corvette.html

This link explains why SMC bodywork is only 30% lighter than steel bodywork :

http://www.compositesworld.com/artic...automotive-smc

Here is the Lotus Evora chassis :

http://gglotus.org/blog/wp-content/u...a-chassis1.jpg

Here is a link that suggests the Evora as a race car platform :

http://evorainfo.net/FileStore/PDFs/...nglePages).pdf

Here is a link that suggests the Corvette as a race car platform :

http://www.corvetteracing.com/cars/g...ckground.shtml

Then the subject expands a little.

Here is a link to the SRT Viper which has a steel chassis and then bodywork of carbon fiber, aluminum, and SMC :

http://www.allpar.com/cars/viper/2012-dodge-viper.html

Here is a link to the Ford GT aluminum chassis :

http://etfoundation.org/assets/pdf/ShwcsFrdGTfinal.pdf

However, Ford GT's, Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, and R8's have aluminum bodywork instead of SMC bodywork.

Of course, carbon fiber tubs are possible on the most advanced models. And as previously suggested, carbon fiber tubs include carbon fiber rocker-panels tieing into carbon fiber bulkheads. Then the bulkheads hold metal frame channels
.