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A design team consisting of engineers from a vehicle platform, body engineering, synthesis & analysis, and suppliers, was formed to accomplish the design, analysis, and prototype manufacturing of a structural instrument panel (IP). The IP design and packaging requirements, material optimization, processing input, and finite element method (FEM) analysis, were combined to develop a feasible design. The structural IP consists mainly of a cross-car beam and a carrier. The structural cross-car beam connects the front body hinge pillars and supports the steering column bracket and HVAC. It provides a restraint surface for the knee bolster and the supplemental inflatable restraint system (SIR), and reacts to barrier and torso impact loads. For the given packaging constraints, a preliminary design was developed to define the structural configuration. Material selection and optimization studies conducted on several design concepts proved to be of great importance in the synthesis approach.