Weight A Minute

Apples, Oranges, Weights and Measures

There are two primary units of weight measurement that carmakers typically use when they are talking about a vehicle’s mass – dry weight and curb weight.

In simple terms, dry weight is the weight of the vehicle on its own with no fluids. Curb weight is the weight of the vehicle “ready to drive” – with all oils, coolants, fuel and other liquids. If you want to dig deeper, there are weights that we, as manufacturers, are legally obliged to declare as part of the Type approval process. For the EU, we use ‘Mass In Running Order’, which is curb weight plus 68kg for the driver. In the US, we have to declare the ‘Gross’ weight, which is curb weight plus 300lbs.

Some manufacturers don’t calculate curb weight with a full tank of fuel, but with a “nominal” fuel level (e.g. 50%). Various requirements define different amounts of fuel to be included.

As you can see, it can be difficult to compare apples to apples.

(Koenigsegg.com)