Motor vehicle support structure

A support structure for a motor vehicle that has a front wheel, the support structure comprising:

• an A pillar arranged rearward of the front wheel, the A pillar having a front end facing the front wheel, a back end opposite the front end, and opposite outer and inner sides extending between the front and back ends with the inner side facing a center of the vehicle, the A pillar being formed by first and second profiles, the first profile defining the front end, the outer side and a part of the back end of the A pillar, the second profile defining the inner side and a part of the back end of the A pillar, the first and second profiles being joined to one another at front and rear flanges, the front flange being arranged at a region of the front end of the A pillar aligned with the inner side and projecting forward at the front end, the rear flange being at the back end of the A pillar;
• a front bulkhead having a front end forward of the A pillar and closer to the center of the vehicle than the A pillar and a rear end;
• a bulkhead flange extending rearward from the rear end of the front bulkhead and fastened with the first and second profiles at the front flange of the A pillar;
• and
• a wheel arch defining a continuous concave surface facing toward the front wheel, the wheel arch extending from a position on a front surface of the front bulkhead forward of the A pillar and closer to the center of the vehicle than the A pillar and being sloped rearward continuously across the front flange and toward the outer side so that the wheel arch, the front bulkhead and the A pillar cooperate to define a slide-off surface, wherein
• the front wheel slides out along the slide-off surface away from the center of the vehicle in the event of a front on crash.