Carbon Fiber
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At the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW introduced its press conference with a preview of the next installment of the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie series. BMW features prominently in this production, with its plug-in hybrid supercar i8 as one of the team’s advanced tools. The movie's theme--the impossible mission, which always somehow seems to be achieved--is exactly what BMW is pursuing with its move into electric power for its vehicles. The theatrical challenge must be concluded in 180 minutes or less, but BMW has patiently evolved its electric-drive technology over several...
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Gordon Murray Announces New Teewave AR.1 Electric Sports Car
Gordon Murray may need little introduction among gearheads following his work on the McLaren F1 supercar back in the 1990s, but his most recent projects, the T.25 and T.27 minicars, certainly raised a few eyebrows. Sports car fans need not have feared however, as today Gordon Murray Design (GMD)...
Antony Ingram -
BMW May Only Lease Its Advanced MegaCity 'i' Electric Car
Of all the electric vehicles planned by major automakers, few are more eagerly awaited than the BMW MegaCity 'i' all-electric urban car, expected to go into production late in 2013 or early in 2014. It's a BMW, which means it will be sporty and handle well. It's likely to be the smallest BMW since...
John Voelcker -
Daimler And Japan’s Toray Form Carbon Fiber Joint Venture
Carbon fiber is seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the material means that it’s still reserved for only a handful of high-end production cars. BMW has...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Green Vehicles, Including Megacity Electric, Named 'i'
The BMW "MegaCity" carbon-fiber all-electric car, scheduled for launch in 2013, may be the most radical BMW in decades. BMW had confirmed that this first production electric car to wear the BMW badge would be the first of a sub-brand within the make, much as its "M" series of performance editions...
John Voelcker -
BMW Green: Plug-In Hybrid Sports Coupe, MegaCity Plant OKed
BMW is moving full steam ahead with its plans to offer new, radically more fuel efficient vehicles in the next decade. Today, the company said it would put its striking Vision EfficientDynamics concept car into production, to be offered for sale starting in October 2013. And, it signed off on an...
John Voelcker -
Carbon fiber is seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the material means that it’s still reserved for only a handful of high-end production cars. BMW has effectively used carbon fiber roofs for its M cars to help lower their center of gravity, and Nissan and General Motors have used the composite material to help save weight for the respective GT-R and ZR1 supercars. For most automakers, mainstream carbon fiber use is still several years away but a...
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Could Your Car's Body Be Its Battery Too? Volvo Is Trying
The biggest challenge for battery electric vehicles is clearly the cost and the weight of today's lithium-ion battery packs. Now Volvo is experimenting with a new composite material that can store and release energy more quickly than a convention lithium-ion cell and, it says, might one day replace...
John Voelcker -
BMW Looking To Curb Vehicle Weight With Increased Aluminum
Lightweight materials such as carbon fiber are seen by many in the auto industry as one of the most effective ways of reducing vehicle weight and thus improving fuel economy and emissions levels, but the relative expense of the materials often mean that they are still reserved for only a handful...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW MegaCity Urban Electric Car To Be Built of Carbon Fiber
We don't know what it looks like yet, but another detail emerged yesterday on BMW's upcoming tiny MegaCity urban electric vehicle: It will be built out of carbon fiber that is partly made in the U.S. BMW will partner with composites expert SGL Group to construct a new plant in Moses Lake...
John Voelcker -
BMW Project Megacity: Ultimate (Electric, Urban) Driving Machine?
BMW has now produced two electric cars: the two-seat Mini E, of which 600 examples are on test in the U.S., Europe, and U.K., and the new ActiveE Concept unveiled at last month's Detroit Auto Show, which will be similarly tested starting next year. But these are just preludes. The company will...
John Voelcker