| Carbon fiber might be the future of car design and | | | | steel. |
| Lamborghini has created an Advanced Composites | | | | Lightweight racing cars that contain carbon fiber today |
| Research Center in Italy where development for new | | | | have a monocoque stressed skin design that means |
| methods of production and design will be put to | | | | reduction in both weight and manufacturing costs. For |
| practice. This material has been used as a structural | | | | passenger cars, however, the manufacturing |
| element by Lamborghini ever since 1980s. Murcielago | | | | techniques make this approach too expensive for |
| contains 205 pounds of carbon or graphite fiber in its | | | | anything but niche cars. Here the cost restrictions are |
| shell. But carbon fiber can be used not only for the | | | | not as tight as to make use of such new materials |
| shell of cars and the largest engine cover with carbon | | | | unappealing. |
| fiber component is already used in Gallardo Spyder's | | | | McLaren makes a few hundred sports cars every |
| engine. | | | | year, and carbon graphite is used in the car body. |
| Carbon fiber, carbon graphite or graphite fiber consists | | | | BMW uses carbon fiber front and rear bumpers, roof |
| of thin fibers composed mostly of carbon atoms. | | | | and beams together with other internal structures on |
| These atoms are bonded in microscopic crystals that | | | | its M6. GM has also started using graphite fiber in |
| align parallel to the axis of the fiber. This makes the | | | | Corvette. |
| fiber very strong compared to its size. The material | | | | Daimler AG will develop carbon fiber car parts in |
| can be combined with a plastic resin and molded to | | | | cooperation with Toray Industries, a Japanese textile |
| form composite materials, one example being the | | | | maker, and car parts will be used in Mercedes-Benz |
| carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Because the density of | | | | starting with 2012. Mercedes Benz SL class will be the |
| it is much lower than steel density, carbon fiber can be | | | | first cars to use the graphite fiber composite materials. |
| used were low weight is required. Due to high tensile | | | | Toray is the world's largest carbon fiber manufacturer |
| strength, low weight and low expansion when heated, | | | | and this is the first project to develop car parts at the |
| aerospace, civil engineering and motorsports use this | | | | company's plant in France. |
| material in numerous applications. The disadvantage is | | | | The new processing method allows molding of auto |
| that it is an expensive material compared to fiberglass | | | | platforms in 10 minutes. It still means double the time |
| or plastic. | | | | needed for regular sheet metal and graphite fiber is |
| Because of the interest in technologies that can | | | | ten times more expensive but Toray's new method |
| reduce fuel consumption for cars, carbon or graphite | | | | can still reduce manufacturing costs dramatically. |
| fiber is an interesting material as it can reduce the | | | | Carbon or graphite fiber has been in use for quite |
| body weight of a car. Reduction in body weight means | | | | some time in the aircraft industry and we might be |
| also smaller engines which in turn might reduce fuel | | | | able to afford a car that is made of it in a few years |
| consumption. There is a potential of 65% savings | | | | from now. |
| when graphite fiber composites are used instead of | | | | |