• Small series vehicles

Engineering for
vehicles that
require
precision

Felsaris supports the development of small series vehicles and performance vehicles from component design to validated thermal management – ​​with simulation-based methodology and industrial precision.

Development time
-40 %
Prototype costs
-60 %

context

Why small production runs have special requirements

A small-series production vehicle is not a simplified version of a mass-produced vehicle. It is a vehicle that must meet all the technical requirements of mass production – with a fraction of the resources, without years of testing, and without the safety nets of a fully developed platform.

Every decision counts twice. Every iteration costs disproportionately. And errors in thermal management or component design don’t occur in the lab – but on the road or on the racetrack.

This is the difference between small-batch and large-batch production

In mass production, development costs are spread across tens of thousands of units. In small-scale production, 50 or 500 vehicles bear the entire engineering risk. Those who work without precise simulation and design pay the price in rework, recalls, or – worse – reputational damage.

challenges

The real problems in small-series vehicle development

Manufacturers of small series vehicles and performance OEMs face structural hurdles that standard solutions do not cover.

Thermal limiting cases without buffer

Compact packages, high power densities, tight installation spaces: thermal management offers no margin for error. Inadequate cooling jeopardizes components, performance, and homologation.

Turbo matching under time pressure

The right turbocharger determines responsiveness, performance, exhaust temperature, and thermal reserves. With prototypes, there’s little room for trial and error – the design must be robust from the outset.

Motorsport-like requirements, civilian approval

Today’s high-performance vehicles must comply with EU6 emissions standards while simultaneously being prepared for the upcoming EU7 requirements by mid-2030. The conflicting objectives of performance, emissions, thermal management, and installation space necessitate a clean, simulation-based design using GT-Suite.

Limited simulation capacity within the team

Many small-series manufacturers have strong CAD, test bench, and manufacturing expertise, but limited capacity for CFD, thermal analysis, aerodynamics, and digital propulsion models. External simulation must be quickly integrable, traceable, and closely resemble test bench results.
positioning

What Felsaris

specifically does

We are not just a general engineering service provider. Felsaris specializes in the specific requirements of small-series vehicles and performance vehicles, utilizing development methods developed in motorsport-related projects and within the environment of performance OEMs.

Advantages

What you will specifically gain

-40 %

Fewer prototypes

Digital validation before the first physical sample
2 X

Faster iteration

Simulation cycles in hours instead of weeks
100 %

Thermal safety

Validated operating points before series production
1 X

contact person

Direct engineer contact from briefing to report
Performance areas

Engineering for small-series vehicles – what we cover

From thermal system design to flow optimization and FEM-supported component design – Felsaris takes on the disciplines that determine success or rework in small series production.
Thermal management

Vehicle thermal management

Systemic design of cooling circuits, thermal buffers and heat management under real operating conditions with a special focus on performance vehicles with high load profiles.
Cooling & CFD

Cooling & Flow Optimization (CFD)

Simulation of automotive flow patterns for cooling channels, air ducts, and heat exchangers. We optimize pressure losses, mass flows, and heat transfer coefficients for small-series and high-performance applications.
SIMULATION & VALIDATION

Simulation & System Validation

Digital safeguarding and validation of systems through realistic simulations – for reliable development results and accelerated product cycles.
Virtual prototypes

Virtual Prototypes & System Validation

Complete digital twins of vehicle components and subsystems. Validation of system behavior, interactions, and edge cases – before the first physical component is manufactured.

Simulation as a methodology, not as an add-on

Felsaris relies on simulation-based development in all its service areas. Flow simulations, virtual development methods, and thermal analyses are not additional services, but rather the methodological core of our work. On our Simulation Services page, you can learn more about the tools, methods, and reference projects we use.
Why Felsaris

Experience that counts

Specializing in small production runs and performance

Mannheim – close when it matters

NDA and full data security

Ready to bring your idea to life?

Contact us to receive a personalized offer for your project — or see if our flexible CAD/CFD on-demand solutions are the right fit to get you started quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

There is no fixed threshold: what matters is not the number of units but the ratio between technical demands and available development resources. As soon as a vehicle has to meet full production-grade requirements without the time or budget for years of testing, simulation pays off from the very first project. That is exactly the range we work in – from one-offs and prototypes up to series in the low hundreds.

We reproduce the critical operating states in simulation before any hardware is built: full load while stationary, uphill driving at high ambient temperatures, heat soak after shutdown. Using CFD and conjugate heat transfer, we see temperature peaks, cooling bottlenecks and pressure losses in detail – often in places that are never instrumented during road testing. The design is validated up front instead of being corrected expensively on the prototype.

Yes. Using 1D engine cycle simulation, we evaluate compressor and turbine maps against your load profile and find the layout that builds boost early without choking at high engine speeds. Because the model is built once and then runs variants in minutes, late changes to the engine, exhaust system or target output can be re-evaluated quickly.

We lay the vehicle out so that performance and durability work together: the simulation assesses not just the best lap figure, but component temperatures, emissions and behaviour over the operating life. That keeps motorsport-level targets achievable without breaking the requirements for road approval.

Then we provide it – for a defined period and without you having to build up licences, computing capacity or headcount. Our on-demand packages make additional engineering capacity available at short notice, for a few weeks or across several months. Software licences are already included, so no additional fixed costs arise.

Yes. Many development projects around small-series vehicles meet the criteria for public funding: the ZIM programme provides grants for upcoming research and development projects, and the German research allowance lets you reclaim a substantial share of your development costs retroactively through your tax return. We assess your project free of charge and, if you wish, handle the entire application process.

Every project runs under an NDA, and your data stays strictly within the project context. Design states, measurement data and simulation results are never used for other clients or as references unless you explicitly release them. On request, we work entirely inside your own system environment.