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Car and Driver

BMW to Replace Carbon Fiber with Flax-Based Alternative on New M Cars

BMW is preparing to ditch carbon fiber in favor of a new natural alternative made from flax-based composites. The automaker partnered with Bcomp, a clean-technology company that has been helping BMW implement the material in its race cars since 2019. BMW says the flax-based composite now passes the regulatory requirements of roof structures for vehicle homologation. If you've inspected a BMW M product built within the last five-or-so years, you're probably aware that the Munich-based company enjoys implementing carbon fiber into its cars. And not in small amounts. So you might be shocked to learn that BMW is currently looking to make carbon fiber a thing of the past. But it's not without reason, because the company is planning to replace the magic composite with a new natural alternative made from a flax-based composite. Goodbye, Carbon Fiber Back in 2019, BMW began working with Bcomp, a clean-technology company that the German automaker owns stake in, to implement the flax-composite in its Formula E cars. After that proved successful, the automaker began replacing carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic components on its M4 DTM and M4 GT4 cars. BMW Now, BMW has confirmed that the flax-based fiber has been "confirmed for series maturity," which, in common parlance, just means that it's ready for mass production. According to the company, replacing carbon-fiber pieces with the natural alternative will reduce the CO2e emissions of future BMW products. Specifically, the company says replacing carbon-fiber roof panels with the flax-composite alternative reduces CO2e emissions by around 40 percent. There are also end-of-life benefits that could help BMW skirt the European Union's recently weighed proposal to add carbon fiber to its list of hazardous materials. BMW BMW While BMW hasn't come forward with any head-to-head comparisons of how the new material sizes up to the tried-and-true carbon fiber, it's instead continuing to prove its effectiveness in racing. BMW's M4 GT4 EVO claims class victory over the weekend in the SP10 class at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Jack Fitzgerald Associate News Editor Jack Fitzgerald's love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1. After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn't afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.