BMW MegaCity EV Hides Much Bigger Find: Affordable Carbon Fiber

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: July 3rd, 2010

bmw megacity ev hides much bigger find affordable carbon fiber

When word of the BMW EV called „MegaCity“ first made the rounds, our Ed Niedermeyer called it “BMW’s long-rumored Neo-Isetta EV.” Now, BMW opened the first button of their electric blouse.

At a presentation in the BMW museum, BMW showed first MegaCity drawings. The sketches were shown by BMWs chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk, and by Benoit Jacobs, who’s the designer-in-charge for the project. Here is what Automobilwoche [sub] took away from the meeting:

The car will be built from carbon fiber, 50 percent lighter than steel, 30 percent lighter than aluminum. BMW has developed a process that makes carbon fiber much less expensive than before.
The carbon fiber is 100 percent recyclable and needs no painting.
This makes the car 100kg lighter, which compensates for the battery, which would make the car 100kg heavier.
The car will be launched 2013 under a BMW sub-brand

Affordable carbon fiber, something that is being worked on in Germany and in Japan, could be even more important for the future of the EV than battery technology. That battery is heavy, and ever since Newton made force, mass, and acceleration inseparable, weight loss has been the key to power and range. That carbon fiber story might be much more interesting than the drawings. The real car never looks like the drawing anyway.

According to The Nikke i [sub], Japan’s “Toray is seeking to develop carbon fiber products for use in high-end vehicles in collaboration with Daimler AG by 2012. Mitsubishi Rayon is teaming up with German materials group SGL to make materials used in a BMW AG electric car due out in 2015. A limited-edition Toyota sports car slated to hit the market at year-end will use Toho Tenax’s material. The Teijin subsidiary has approached several carmakers with a prototype vehicle whose carbon fiber composite use makes it 60% lighter.”

The Teijin process sounds most interesting. Teijin can process the material in just one minute. Their material is 10 times stronger and 75 percent lighter than comparable metals, says the company.

#BertelSchmitt #BMW #CarbonFiber #ElectricVehicle #Germany #MegaCity

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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3 of 11 comments

Robert Schwartz on Jul 03, 2010

Maybe they will be able to get the 3 down to 2400 lbs.

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M 1 on Jul 04, 2010

I'm waaaay more interested in cheap CF than I'll ever be in battery-powered transportation appliances.

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- Ihatetrees on Jul 04, 2010
  
  +1. Drop weight from the Mini or the 33x and up goes the fun...
  
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