CF reinforced 7 series chassis
 

http://jalopnik.com/bmw-just-kicked-...fk9g,pexi6me2k

I think a few guys here had joked around with the idea of a carbon monocoque Camaro - now it looks like BMW is starting to add carbon fiber structural reinforcement to their 7 series chassis.

The video at the bottom of the article is pretty cool.

but...its still not a Camaro.

Problem is you can build it but how many will buy. It has to be part of a larger pictures. :rules:

I think if weight savings was what your after I think making carbon fiber quarter panels and a roof skin would probably make more financial sense for a company. That would be in addition to installing a carbon hood, trunk, fenders, cowl, etc for weight savings. But then your crossing over into a full race car and less "street" car.

There's a company I believe that already makes a full carbon fiber body. But again not practical for a "pro touring" car. A carbon subframe will never happen unless someone is just doing it to show off and waste money. It's just not practical And in my opinion no real benefit.

How will you repair this car?

Sadly, I think cars are very much going the way of a lot of products. That is, they are becoming disposable. I'm all for advancements in safety but we're creating more trash than we should. Recycling can only recover some of that energy since it takes energy to recycle.

I think this comes back around to the discussion about GM & John Deere keeping their Intellectual Property in house. In this case, BMW can say that their Repair Facilities are the only ones that can do the repair properly. And that comes at a Price $$$ :G-Dub:

I didn't think CF could be repaired like you can fiberglass for instance.

Ford has required body shops get new specialty equipment in order to work on the new F150s. You have to be approved as well or else you're not allowed to work on them.

The future is going to be interesting.

BMW has been playing around with carbon fibet for years. They have offered different versions of the M-series with CF panels, roof, etc. It's nothing really new. But the chassis? Why?

I have seen supercar rims made entirely out of CF and thought that made sense... for a supercar. Not something that will actually get driven. You hit a pot-hole or get curb rash on an expensive, irreparable CF rim like that... I don't think so.

Same with a frame, there's no going back, no fixing it. A rim is a lot less wasted, and easier to replace, than a frame. I see absolutely no practical benefit from a CF frame outside of supercar/racecar territory. For anything you are going to insure with Gieco, you might want to settle for metal, like the rest of us mere mortals, so it can be fixed when you back into a pole in the walmart parking lot.

Unless an auto manufacturer wants to sell more cars to replaced totaled units.

Looks like I chose the right field to pick for school (Composites repair, fabrication, and manufacturing.)