汽车材料革命，碳纤维成新宠

    其他德国汽车制造商也不甘落后。为避免出局的危险，宝马主要竞争对手——奥迪汽车（Audi）制造商德国大众（Volkswagen）——增持了西格里公司9.9%的股份。梅赛德斯-奔驰（Mercedes-Benz）也不甘人后。目前，它正联手一家日本公司，在德国建立自己的碳纤维制造工厂。据彭博社（Bloomberg）报道，梅赛德斯的目标是将下一代奔驰车结构重量减少10%。

    三大汽车巨头并非没有追赶目标。因为英国著名赛车研发制造公司麦克拉伦（Tiny McLaren）计划今年就将1,000 MP4-12C赛车的底盘全部换成碳纤维材料，底价为231,400美元。

    宝马正致力于应用碳纤维研发两款未来车型，这两款车计划于2013年发布。宝马采用一种新的加工方式——机器人加工，运用注压成型工艺，几分钟之内就可完成汽车零部件的加工。而宝马生产的车型，从迷你库柏（Mini Coopers）到劳斯莱斯（Rolls-Royces），每一辆新款车都将与之前的款式全然不同。

    宝马i3将采用四座设计，且由电动或汽油引擎提供动力，而重量仅有大约1.225吨，相当于日产聆风型汽车（Nissan Leaf）重量的80%。据《汽车新闻报》（Automotive News）报道，宝马i3的产量计划为每年30,000辆，主要投放城市地区。宝马i8将设计成混合动力车，同时装配燃气和电力发动机。在保持对法拉利（Ferrari）汽车的速度优势下，宝马i8每行驶20英里只需一电荷的电量；而每行驶50英里，也只需消耗一加仑汽油。

    这两款车的售价都不便宜。据权威IT网站ExtremeTech的撰稿人比尔• 霍华德估计，宝马i3的售价将达50,000美元，而宝马给i8的定价为170,000美元左右。相比之下，雪佛兰纯电动车Chevy Volt的售价仅为43,000美元，而全球首款量产版电动敞篷跑车Tesla roadster的售价也只有109,000美元。

    宝马董事长雷瑟夫表示：“碳纤维是21世纪汽车制造业的关键原材料，将会在汽车研发和制造领域带来一场变革。”

    然而，他并未提及碳纤维优于其他节能技术的主要特点：碳纤维随处可见；它不会像太阳能、天然气，或氢燃料电池那样，说不定哪天就无处可寻了。

    翻译：李淑玉/汪皓

    Other German automakers are following right along. To make sure that it wasn't left out, archrival Volkswagen, maker of Audi, has bought a 9.9% stake in the SGL venture. Mercedes-Benz is jumping into the carbon fiber pool as well. It is building its own manufacturing facility in Germany in cooperation with a Japanese company. Mercedes has a goal of reducing vehicle structure weight by 10% with each succeeding generation, according to Bloomberg.

    All three companies have some catching up to do. Tiny McLaren, based in the U.K., plans to use a carbon fiber chassis as the basis for 1,000 MP4-12C sports cars it plans to build this year. Base price: $231,400.

    BMW is using carbon fiber in two futuristic cars it is introducing in 2013. A new process, operated mostly by robots, can turn out parts in a matter of minutes using injection molding. The automaker's models range from Mini Coopers to Rolls-Royces, but neither new car is anything like what it has built previously.

    The i3, which carries four passengers, will be powered by either an electric or gasoline engine, and will weigh just 2,700 pounds -- about 20% less than a Nissan Leaf. BMW plans to make 30,000 i3s a year, Automotive News reports, for use in urban areas The i8, with both gas and electric motors, will be faster than a Ferrari and still be capable of 20 miles per electric charge, or 50 miles per gallon of gas.

    Neither auto will be cheap. Bill Howard of ExtremeTech estimates the i3 will go for $50,000, and BMW has priced the i8 at around $170,000. By comparison, the Chevy Volt goes for $43,000, while the Tesla roadster sells for $109,000.

    Says BMW's Reithofer, "Carbon fibers are a key construction material for the automotive industry of the 21st century and will change the way we develop and build cars."

    What he didn't mention is the key advantage they have over other gas-saving technologies: They are here today -- not off in some gauzy future like solar power, natural gas, or hydrogen-based fuel cells.