Sit Fast - Brief Article

Automotive Manufacturing & Production, Feb, 2001

Elsewhere in this issue we examine some trends and developments in interiors. Unless you happen to be a part of the Formula One circuit (and don't you wish), you probably aren't going to get too close to this, the APEX System developed by Lear Corp. (Southfield, MI), which not only provides interior systems for passenger vehicles, but which is a technology partner to Jaguar Racing, the Ford-owned F1 team. APEX? Advanced Protection & Extraction.

The extractable seat has a dual-shell construction: there is a common carbon fiber outer shell that can fit in all F1 car cockpits; there is a kevlar/carbon inner shell that's custom-formed for the driver's physique. The space between the two is filled with an energy-absorbing material.

APEX is a second-generation extractable seating system that is based on one that Lear, Jaguar Racing, and the Federation Internationale de I' Automobile (FIA) introduced in late 1998. On January 1, 1999, extractable seats based on the specs of that original, prototype seat became mandatory for the series.