Recently, Matt Petrany of Jalopnik sat down with Adrian Van Hooydonk, BMW’s Head of Design, to talk about carbon fiber construction.
When BMW created the i3 and i8, it developed a new kind of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and a new process of developing it. This helped create a lightweight platform in which to build the aforementioned vehicles. The light weight of the CFRP allows BMW to make the i3 and i8 more economical and have better performance.
Obviously, BMW wants to move forward with CFRP construction in every BMW vehicle eventually. Apparently, BMW wants to start with the 3 Series. It will just take a while to get there.
At the moment, a CFRP chassis is far cheaper and faster to make than a traditional carbon fiber chassis. However, it’s still far more expensive and takes far longer to make than a conventional steel or aluminum chassis.
The benefits of the CFRP chassis would be extraordinary to the 3 Series, or any car for that matter. It would give the 3er a significant advantage over the competition in terms of performance, safety and fuel economy. BMWs have gotten a bit heavy in recent years, which is par for the course in the auto industry nowadays, so a new, CFRP chassis would be an incredible upgrade.
Driving the i3 is an extraordinary experience and the CFRP chassis has a lot to do with it. It’s also what makes the i3 so innovative.This kind of chassis would be a game changer in regular gasoline or diesel powered vehicles. I hope BMW can hurry along the development process for CFRP and can implement it into standard cars soon. The idea of a CFRP M3 gets me giddy.
When will 3 series facelift appear on showrooms? it would be much better
This fall
there is no official statement yet. Could we see on these auto shows new york, istanbul or frankfurt or which of them it will show up?
have been driving 3 series 6 cil for the past 40 years, now drive an i3 will never go back to those gas guzzlers anymore!!!! i3 forever!
“When BMW created the i3 and i8, it developed a new kind of carbon fiber reinforced plastic and a new process of developing it.”
Uh, no. BMW didn’t create a new kind of CFRP. What they developed was a high yield, comparatively low cost manufacturing method. They developed the first assembly line for CFRP components, which a traditionally hand laid. Labor is the big killer with CF components. This is the significance of BMWs CFRP and why that reverse engineering company Monroe (or whatever) says it’s the biggest deal since the Model T. The Model T was huge not because of the car, but because it was the first assembly line.
“At the moment, a CFRP chassis is far cheaper and faster to make than a traditional carbon fiber chassis.”
Also no.. er.. half no.. Yes, BMW chassis is far cheaper to produce than other manufacturers, but that’s a result of the manufacturing process, not a difference in the CF itself. Granted, there are different quality levels of CF, however, what you seem to be implying is that BMW is not using real carbon fiber. In actuality, CFRP = traditional CF = CF. It’s pure semantics. It’s the same as fiber glass. Fiber glass is actually GFRP but no one says GFRP. Same as aluminum. Pure aluminum is pretty much never used so when people say aluminum it’s actually aluminum alloy. Pure semantics. There is no difference in what BMW uses versus high end sports cars or the aerospace industry. BMW uses the same PAN fibers to create the CF fabric that a Boeing would use. BMW does have a specific layup, but that’s nothing revolutionary. The layup depends on what properties you’re attempting to achieve.
Oh, this is much clearer. I was confused and misguided by the article until I read your comment., Thanks.
I want to ask: is it really that much more expensive to produce CFRP as opposed to steel and alu? Should I be worried about durability of these CFRP? Will they melt at certain temperatures? Let’s say the batteries get overheated? I saw a video on the production of CFRP, they ship things from one end of the planet to the next, etc.Would it not be cheaper to just manufacture it in one place? What is the point of getting the fibres coiled in the US and then ship to Germany for further processing and then to the US again? It just doesn’t make sense. Should we be concerned about the stability of the vehicles at high speeds with less weight? The reason why a BMW is more stable and sure footed at high speeds because on average they weight about half a ton more than a VW hatchback
Wow, a lot of questions. Yes CFRP is quite a bit more expensive than conventional construction. I’m not sure about the melting, I’ve heard nothing of the sort. About the shipping, I’m sure BMW is producing and shipping the CFRP in the most cost effective way possible. When it comes to the weight and stability, it isn’t weight that makes BMWs stable, it’s chassis and suspension refinement so lighter weight won’t have an effect. In fact a lighter weight vehicle provides a more comfortable ride because there is less rebounding mass.