BAC, a British manufacturer of sports cars became the first company to make a car with grapheme composites for lighter weight. Named the BAC Mono, the model is a single-seater in which the graphene composites will first be used in the rear wheel arches, in collaboration with Haydale Composite Solutions.
The graphene used for the car was made from sheets of carbon that were just one atom thick and is reportedly a lot stronger and lighter than the normal carbon fibers. BAC estimates that using graphene can lead to weight reductions of upto 20 per cent while it can enhance strength by 200 times stronger.
BAC first wanted to try out the use of graphene on the rear wheel arches due to the size and complexity of the panel, to check the fit of the material with the rest of the car and to test the manufacturing process.
BAC Development Director and co-founder Neill Briggs said that BAC is the right manufacturer to test this new technology as it is highly innovative. He added that the company’s work with graphene further proved BAC’s ability to make use of the latest materials and innovators.
Ebby Shahidi, Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd.’s Director of Aerospace and Defence said that working on the design and development of the graphene enhanced carbon fiber materials for the BAC Mono was an interesting process. The material that was initially developed shows great promise as they exhibit outstanding increases in impact and thermal performance as well as improved surface finish.
BAC showcased the new BAC Mono with the graphene panels for the first time at the Science in the City festival in Manchester, UK.
