Development in new car technology is increasingly centred around lightweight materials these days. The most desirable materials are magnesium, aluminium and ‘duraluminum’, the latter being an amazing amalgam of aluminium, magnesium and copper, used in airplane construction. Then of course, you get the king of them all, carbon fibre. It’s expensive, but it’s stronger and lighter than anything else around.
Carbon fibre body panels significantly reduce the weight of a car and lower the centre of gravity if used in the roof structure, as with the BMW M3. As little as 4 kg saved in the roof, is said to lower the centre of gravity by the equivalent of a 12 kg weight reduction from the rest of the body. Manufacturers have started using carbon fibre prop shafts in the drivetrain for their lack of inertia and lightening fast response in acceleration and deceleration.
What about carbon fibre wheels though? Why have we never seen these on a production car before? Think of the permutations and dynamic benefits of an ultra-lightweight carbon fibre wheel. Well, Australian-based manufacturer, ‘Carbon Revolution’ claims to have brought the world’s first one-piece carbon fibre automotive wheel to market. Known as the CR9, the wheel is said to be 50% lighter than a conventional alloy wheel, while maintaining greater strength than OEM standards.
Sure, the Aussie manufacturer’s claim of a ‘world first’ is open for debate. Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg, offers a carbon fibre wheel on its Agera R, as does the SSC Tuatara, but those two cars are hardly accessible to the average man on the street now are they?
“Creating a composite wheel that is made entirely in one piece from continuous fibers is particularly challenging given the significant geometric complexities,” Carbon Revolution’s Brett Gass says. “We have successfully developed an architecture that optimises the properties of continuous carbon fibers through the complex range of operational loads that are seen on a vehicle.”
Carbon Revolution has spent close to a decade developing the CR9, which promises to deliver dynamic benefits through reduced unsprung weight, but also improved fuel economy through reduced rotational mass. The CR9 design will initially be available in 19-inch sizes to suit the Porsche 911, with bigger and smaller sizes to follow in the coming months.
Carbon Revolution did not release any pricing details for their CR9, but with a decade of development under its belt we reckon it won’t come cheap. Still looks mega though.
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