After proving their price on the observe, pure fiber composites are lastly making their method into BMW Group’s manufacturing vehicles. Years of R&D and testing have paid off—these renewable supplies have now reached what’s known as “sequence maturity,” which is trade communicate for: they’re prepared for the actual world, not simply racetracks.
Developed in collaboration with Swiss clean-tech agency Bcomp, these flax-based composites tick all of the bins—together with the powerful homologation requirements for structural elements like roofs. BMW’s been working with Bcomp for years now and even invested within the firm by BMW i Ventures, which tells you simply how severely they’re taking this complete sustainability push.
Light-weight building has all the time been a BMW specialty, and this new materials not solely cuts weight however slashes CO₂ emissions within the course of. Swapping out conventional carbon fiber for flax fiber within the roof of a next-gen mannequin can reportedly lower production-related CO₂ by round 40%. That’s earlier than you even get into how a lot simpler these things is to recycle or get rid of.
The primary testbed for this tech? Motorsports, in fact. BMW M began utilizing pure fiber elements again in 2019 with its System E program, and the M4 DTM and M4 GT4 have since adopted swimsuit. Since 2022, Bcomp has even been an official associate of BMW M Motorsport.
Subsequent up is the actual proving floor: the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the place these supplies shall be put by hell on the BMW M4 GT4. As BMW M boss Franciscus van Meel places it, “Pure fiber composites are a significant ingredient of modern light-weight options in motorsport.” Translation: they’re quick, inexperienced, and about to go mainstream.
And sure—true to BMW M’s slogan—what’s born on the observe is about to hit the road.
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