But of course, lightweighting itself is by no means new: Formula 1 has been using it for decades to create the fastest possible cars. Their success on the track can teach us some valuable lessons about lightweighting for the road - and it's these lessons I'd like to take a look at today.
1) Fuel economy, durability and longevity
Formula 1 approaches lightweighting from multiple directions to ensure that the reduction in weight achieves the desired performance. This means that as well as looking at slicing gross vehicle mass, they select their manufacturing processes and materials to maximise fuel economy, durability and longevity.
Carbon fibre is the classic example of a material long used by Formula 1 to ensure durability, lightness and performance - and it's also an interesting example of how the lightweighting trend is helping to reduce the cost of materials. The focus on emissions reduction and the leading example more designers are taking from Formula 1 are helping to gradually shrink the price of a material that was once simply too expensive for the majority of road vehicle manufacturers to consider using.
2) Smart selection of materials
Of course, material selection is the primarily building block of lightweight design. The use of these materials is one of the most crucial lessons we can take from Formula 1. For example, looking at Formula 1 design, we can see a focus on the integration of the best quality lightweight materials throughout every aspect of the car.
Its brake discs are now made from carbon fibre composite, which provides more benefits than simply reducing weight. When combined with the correct cooling mechanisms, they can also operate at higher temperatures. The result? Improved performance and safety - including significantly reduced stopping distances, a clear advantage for road vehicles too.
3) Aerodynamics for all
As we all know, aerodynamics has a key role to play in fuel efficiency - and therefore emissions reduction and cost savings. In this respect, the vehicle manufacturing industry has been taking broad inspiration from race cars for decades - yet as ever, there is more we can learn. For example, Formula 1 has a real focus on increasing downforce, whereas in road vehicle design the tendency is to concentrate on drag reduction. Simply looking at designs from another angle like this can be a great way to adapt techniques used in racing for the road.
4) Rules are made to be broken
Of course, one of the most exciting things about trying to break new ground, such as by making your vehicles more eco-friendly than ever before, is the opportunities it provides to innovate. Formula 1 is famous for its tight regulations, which the industry's design engineers often find ingenious loopholes in to introduce incredible new devices to improve performance, such as exhaust-blown diffusers to enhance aerodynamics. While these devices tend to get banned fairly rapidly, they do serve as a reminder that to advance, it's sometimes necessary to break the rules.
While the constraints you're likely to face are more likely to take the form of strict budgets, the lesson remains clear - always be ready to innovate to move forward.
5) Emissions and cost reductions are perfect partners
The above lessons really boil down to a broader lesson, and one that is particularly worth bearing in mind when debating the balance between the latest materials and cost. This lesson is that incorporating lightweighting technology has the power to cut costs as well as emissions.
This isn't only in terms of operational costs. At the manufacturing stage, materials such as carbon fibre are becoming more affordable all the time - a change largely driven by the push to greener technologies - while the introduction of emissions fines act as a financial deterrent to short-term savings made by cost-cutting at the design and manufacturing stages.