Future concepts for the automobile industry

Green light for the environment

Concept Car „eXasis“

Studies and concept cars were a highlight of the world’s motor shows in 2007. One focus of attention for automotive experts, photographers and car enthusiasts alike was a small Swiss design company by the name of Rinspeed. Its founder Frank Rinderknecht presented his latest creation, the “eXasis” – a new automotive concept that stole the show from more exalted names in the industry.

Plastics for economy

'Cars need to be made lighter again to reduce CO2. For this reason, it is impossible to do without modern plastics. Yet environmentally compatible cars must not be seen as a 'declaration of abstinence'', says carmaker Frank Rinderknecht.

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“Cars need to be made lighter again to reduce CO₂. For this reason, it is impossible to do without modern plastics. Yet environmentally compatible cars must not be seen as a “declaration of abstinence”, says carmaker Frank Rinderknecht.

The unique feature of this vehicle is that the body and floor pan are made entirely of the transparent, pale-yellow tinged high-tech plastic Makrolon from Bayer MaterialScience. Car manufacturers today strive to incorporate as much plastic as possible in their designs because of its light weight. The result is environmentally-friendly cars that are a pleasure to drive. Because less weight means lower fuel consumption.

Ian Paterson, the member of the BMS Board of Management responsible for innovation, commented: “We hope that the eXasis will provide inspiration for the cars of the future. This eco-friendly roadster is good-looking, powerful and fast, but at the same time almost completely CO₂-free.“ With its 150 horsepower engine, this concept car has a top speed of 210 kilometers per hour. The eXasis weighs only 750 kilos, consumes 6.3 liters of bio-ethanol E 85 over 100 kilometers and produces just 20 grams of CO₂ per kilometer. By comparison, an average mid-range car emits some 200 grams of CO₂.

Concept Cars: Visions of the automotive future

The concept car owes its transparency to high-tech Makrolon plastic from Bayer MaterialScience. The eXasis also contains other Bayer MaterialScience products: the soft-feel coating, the paintwork, and electrically conductive films.

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The concept car owes its transparency to high-tech Makrolon plastic from Bayer MaterialScience. The eXasis also contains other Bayer MaterialScience products: the soft-feel coating, the paintwork, and electrically conductive films.

Concept cars like the eXasis are more than just an excuse for automotive engineers and designers to play around with ideas for the future of automotive locomotion. Many of the features we take for granted in motor vehicles today started out as ideas in a concept car. Plastics are a good example of this: in 1967 Bayer unveiled the first “all-plastic car“ at the International Plastics Trade Show in Düsseldorf – only the engine and the transmission were made of metal. Like many concept cars, this model never entered volume production. Only two were ever built. One is now on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, while the other is in the possession of Bayer MaterialScience. The latter made a comeback at the Plastics Trade Show in the Fall of 2007 – 40 years after its debut appearance.

A “glass” car: The concept car owes its transparency to the hightech plastic Makrolon from Bayer MaterialScience. Other Bayer MaterialScience products in the eXasis are contained in the soft-feel coating, the paint finish and the electrically conductive films.