BAC is claiming to be the first manufacturer in the world to develop a car featuring panels made from graphene.

The Liverpool-based carmaker has collaborated with composite R&D specialist Haydale Composite Solutions to create rear wheel arches made out of graphene.

The latter is made of sheets of carbon just one atom thick, and is said to be significantly lighter than standard carbon-fibre. It is also stronger than carbon-fibre, meaning that it can bring weight reductions of around 20% while being 200 times stronger than steel. These benefits could have obvious implications for cost, performance and fuel economy when applied wider in the manufacturing process.

BAC designers say they chose to test the use of graphene on the rear wheel arches due to the size and complexity of the part, to thoroughly test the manufacturing process and how the material fitted in with the car.

“Making significant weight savings and improving body strength will allow us to offer improved performance to our customers,” said BAC development director and co-founder Neill Briggs.

“These initial materials have shown some major increases in impact and thermal performance coupled with improved surface finish and it’s pleasing to see these attributes being demonstrated on such a high performance vehicle as the Mono,” added Ebby Shahidi, director of aerospace and defence at Haydale Composite Solutions.

Source: BAC

Tags: BAC, car design, Graphene, Haydale Composite Solutions, manufacturing, Mono, Neill Briggs