Your move supercars . . .?

I think this is one segment too many for BMW to be playing in. Isn’t this why they have MINI?

Lol, nice…

however, your comment with this article still makes me think of this: http://thiagomiranda.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/bmw_audi.jpg

It makes sense… Obviously the price would be passed to the consumer… but as it is a material that is lightweight and strong, it was bound to be used in more common production cars. They will have more exotic materials that the supercars will be able to use…. doesn’t the new Zonda have that Carbo-tanium (CF mix with Titanium?)

I wonder if it’ll decrease the price of Carbon F?

From an auto insurance perspective this will be a nightmare – carbonfiber is expensive and when damaged – the who thing needs to be replaced.

It maybe a win-win situation for them – but for the customer – look to pay excessive insurance premiums that will outweigh the pounds it sheds to increase MPG.

Someone had to start somewhere. The more common the use of CF, the less expensive it will be once it becomes standard. BMW owners are already stupid enough to over pay so it mas as well start with then anyway lol.

as long as they don’t jack up the prices for being made up of so much carbon fiber, I’m game! Oh yeah, make it look good! Give me bare CF, no paint please!

Just as I’ve been preaching for 10 years about the usage of dedicated generator hybrids, I’ve been preaching about the use of Carbon Fiber for the construction of cars. It’s a huge boon to safety, economy, efficiency and performance. Lighter weight + stronger materials = everyone wins. I’m glad SOMEBODY is going to jumpstart the economy of scale aspect of automotive carbon fiber. Once this stuff becomes mainstream it’ll be cheaper than steel.

aesir,
Those billboards seem to favor Audi since the new m3 came out before the new a4, and the rs4 isn’t even out yet. It would seem to be a wrong move for bmw to create that billboard at this time….don’t you think? Because the new s4 is the favorite against the 335xi.

Next up….Carbon Fiber nano-tubes

BMW Megacity Trek Edition?

idrinorbarsaku, I agree, but I still found it amusing. It’s an old pic and just that first comment made me think of it for some reason.

Jake, how much is it really going to matter? I don’t know if you remember an article out of Car & Driver a while back where they trashed the front end of some high end Audi and because of all the aluminum in the chassis it was almost a ridiculous process to put it back together. At least with carbon fibre you’re not going to run into dissimilar metal issues. The parts may be more expensive but the repair process itself could be significantly less complicated and therefore it might just even things out.

I think that the use of Carbon Fiber is going to DRAMATICALLY increase over the next few years and decades. We see that Toyota has their new supercar and it sounds like all the carbon fiber and other technologies for that car were developed in-house, which is a very smart move for them.

If the news of this small car relying heavily on CF is true, it could be BMW’s way of bringing the material closer to being mass produced for the automotive world. While expensive, they could really get a leg-up on the rest of the industry if they perfect the ability to work with CF.

That article sticks in my cubicle Johnny – it was AMAZING what that S8 had to go through to get repaired. Amazingly expensive too – you’re just opeing up a hole bad of worms on insurance cost on that type of car…

nano tubes are already used in the resin in bike frames for look cycles.. also CF has been decreasing over the years, even with boeing making the 787 (which put a huge strain on the demand) the industry has adapted and is still producing CF products at lower costs

Since I’m a selfish b*stard I’d like CF to stay purely exotic. Otherwise it might decrease the “wow” factor of the carbon fiber on my Z. Plus the Pagani Zonda F in bare CF is pure sex. Seeing it everywhere else might diminish some of that effect….

Path,
A couple of decades ago Aluminum was exotic enough.

This is evolution, people, let it flow and hope for new CF equivalents to show up in the future, until then.

05z88Path

sorry to tell you this, but a nissan sentra “r” probably has carbon fiber somewhere on the interior too.
the wow factor of CF is long gone except in huge quantities like the zonda.

“hit the market within 5 years” In other words there is no car yet, there is no design, there is no development. All there is is somebody saying they want to use it.

I almost bought a CF bicycle frame 17 years ago for nearly $3,000. I just saw a much better looking CF frame about two weeks ago going for just under $2,000.

@reedfest: who says the only CF I have on my Z is in the interior? *Insert evil laugh here*

not a fan of exposed CF in an interior, or major body panels (like a CF hood on a yellow car…eep)…but i’m a big fan of CF in general…using more CF seems like a great way to combat safety bloat…

i read yesterday that mazda is going to downsize (or at least shed pounds from) the miata…CF would be a good way to get that done…rigidity stays up (very important in many aspects of our lives), and weight comes down, what’s not to love…(stop being pragmatic, jake, just stop it!)…

The CF roof on the new M3 looks cool, but is only appreciated in pictures. Will be interesting to see non-painted CF used on more readily visible body panels.

I think its time for carbon fiber to make it into mainstream auto production. The use of this material fits perfectly with the concept of a small light fuel efficient vehicle.

Just please don’t make this exposed CF. Paint it like any other structural material. Otherwise, in this kind of car it will look like a Pep Boys add on.

Have that solved the CF yellowing issue with UV exposure without resorting to very expensive clear UV protecting paints? Another reason to just paint it a solid color.

As far as repair costs. If this is a mass produced car, it will probably be in line with other replacement costs. These will likely be modular structures with the ability to unbolt components from the tub and replace similar to the new McClaren or new Lexus. And as long as the replacement part is mass produced, costs should be kept reasonable.

Nothing new here I see cars worth $2000 all the time with exotic materials, CF parts are only the beginning. They usually have Ti exhaust tips, fiberglass cladding, neon under body lights and deafening sound systems too.