VEHICLE UNDERBODY STRUCTURE COMPRISING A TRANSVERSAL BEAM OF VARYING RESISTANCE TO PLASTIC DEFORMATION

The vehicle underbody structure comprises a floor panel, at least one longitudinal beam extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle under said floor panel and at least one transversal beam extending in a transversal direction, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, above the floor panel, the floor panel extending transversally between two sides, the transversal beam comprising a transversal central end extending under a central area of said floor panel and a transversal side end extending at one of the sides of said floor panel, wherein the transversal beam comprising a central portion, extending between the central end and an intermediate part of the transversal beam, and an end portion, extending between the intermediate part and the side end, the resistance to plastic deformation of the central portion being greater than the resistance to plastic deformation of the end portion, and in that the intermediate part of the transversal beam extends upright of the longitudinal beam such that the end portion of the transversal beam extends transversally between the longitudinal beam and one of the sides of the floor panel.