Many of the exotic brands on the market, like Lamborghini an McLaren have used the carbon fiber and other composites that increase considerably te car’s performance and reduce the weight, and more and more brands are expected to start using them,as far as prices allow them, of course.
One of the next places we are likely to see carbon fiber is in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, making it not just a regular E-Class, but a Superlight E-Class, according to highly speculative piece by Auto Bild.
Mercedes will reportedly cut down about 770 pounds off the weight of the E-Class, managing to bring it down to around 2,860 pounds, with the help of carbon fiber.
That low weight should help Mercedes get some extra mpgs out of the E-Class, and it may get even more by equipping the Superlight with a fuel-cell or six-cylinder gas + electric motor hybrid powertrain.
And besides all the performance upgrades the carbon fiber brings, it also give some extra creative room to the designers, due to its rigidity. A possibility of a B-pillar-less design, possibly with some rear-hinged or gullwing doors exists.
The E-Class is expected to debut in 2015, and for sure it won’t be the only Mercedes to use carbon fiber by then.
Source: MotorAuthority
