寶馬i8愛上碳纖維

????接下來的幾周中，售價13.5萬美元的寶馬全新i8運動型跑車將在比佛利山莊和格林威治的街道上亮相。很難將它具體歸類為某種車。它速度很快，質量很輕，格外省油，還非常吸引眼球。

????大家可以把i8想象成有時表現得如同豐田普銳斯（Toyota Prius）或日產聆風（Nissan Leaf）的保時捷卡雷拉（Porsche Carrera）。

????從汽車工程學的角度來看，i8是一款極為優秀的原創車型，代表了德國汽車制造商重要的哲學立場。之前，人們認為德國車更像是強大動感的機器，而非環保的正義使者。然而，越來越嚴格的碳排放規定開始威脅到寶馬和其他的高性能汽車制造商，除非他們能夠發明、掌握先進的節能技術，比如在i8中體現的那些技術。

????這類突破性的技術在i8和寶馬更小更便宜的都市車i3上都得到了體現。制造商大量使用碳纖維來代替鋼材。兩款車型的駕駛室都由碳纖維構成。而在之前，由于過高的價格和復雜的工序，這種材料從來沒有大量用于制造大容量汽車。

????位于華盛頓州摩西湖的西格里汽車碳纖維有限責任公司（SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers LLC）總經理安德理亞斯?烏爾納說：“碳纖維之所以能夠應用于這些新車型，是因為我們掌握了制造這種物質的方法，從而讓生產過程更加自動化、生產速度更快、浪費更少?！?/p>

????西格里是寶馬參與創辦的一家合資企業。上周五，他們宣布，準備新投入2億美元，將摩西湖工廠的生產力擴至三倍，成為世界上最大的碳纖維生產基地。場址之所以選在這里，部分原因是這里可以采用水力發電機供電，比起使用火電廠，這樣幾乎不會產生二氧化碳。

????采用油電混合動力裝置的i8重量僅有3,274磅（比起用鋁作為車身的特斯拉Model S電力車輕了大約1,000磅），可以在4.4秒內從0加速到60英里/小時。盡管美國的燃油效率評級數據還沒有發布，但寶馬的工程師預測，它的油耗大約是90英里/加侖。

????i8能夠以五種模式行駛，每種模式都會對行駛路程、功率、燃油效率和蓄電池充電中的幾項指標進行優化。理想情況下，汽車可以駛出375英里而不需要加油或充電。只使用電池的情況下，它也可以駛出最多23英里。

????i8低矮的車身似乎不夠性感，不過它的鷗翼式車門卻讓人怦然心動。（為了避免與主要競爭對手梅賽德斯-奔馳率先捧紅的鷗翼門設計雷同，寶馬把它們稱作“剪刀”門。）

????4.14萬美元的寶馬i3似乎深受人們青睞。面對大量的初期需求，寶馬在今年4月表示他們已經將汽車產量增至每天100輛。i3和i8都將在德國萊比錫的寶馬工廠進行生產，這個工廠的部分能源來自風力發電。

????寶馬已經開始率先涉足碳纖維：它在i3和i8上的廣泛使用就像福特汽車公司（Ford Motor Company）決定使用鋁來制造下一代F系列皮卡一樣，這些跡象都昭示著環境問題開始成為車輛設計中日益重要的關鍵因素。（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????BMW's new $135,000 i8 sports car, which will begin appearing on the streets of Beverly Hills and Greenwich in a few weeks, defies easy categorization. It is fast. It is light. It is exceptionally fuel efficient and eye-catching.

????Think of i8 as a Porsche Carrera behaving from time to time like a Toyota Prius (TM) or Nissan Leaf.

????As stunning and original as the i8 is from an automotive engineering standpoint, it represents an important philosophical statement for the German automaker, known until now for powerful, sporty machines more than environmental righteousness. Tougher regulations regarding carbon emissions threaten BMW and other makers of high-performing models unless they can develop and master advanced energy efficient technologies, such as those embodied in i8.

????One such breakthrough technology exemplified in the i8, as well as for BMW's smaller, less expensive i3 city car, is extensive use of carbon fiber instead of steel. The cockpits of both cars are fabricated from the material, which has never before been used for the mass manufacture of a high-volume vehicle due to prohibitive cost and complication.

????"What makes carbon fiber feasible for these new models is the way in which we have learned to manufacture the substance so that the process can be more highly automated, quicker, and less wasteful," said Andreas Wuellner, managing director of SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers LLC, in Moses Lake, Wash.

????SGL, a joint venture partner with BMW, on Friday announced a new $200 million investment to triple the capacity of its Moses Lake factory, making it the largest such installation in the world. The location of the plant was chosen, in part, because the electricity could be furnished by hydroelectric generators, which produce little or no carbon dioxide compared to fossil-fuel plants

????The gas-electric plug-in hybrid i8, weighing 3,274 pounds (about 1,000 pounds less than an aluminum-bodied Tesla Model S electric), can accelerate to 60 miles per hour from 0 in about 4.4 seconds. Though the U.S. federal fuel efficiency rating hasn't yet been released, BMW engineers calculate it will be about 90 miles per gallon.

????i8 can be driven in five different modes, each of which optimizes some combination of range, power, fuel efficiency, or battery charge. Under ideal conditions, the car can be driven as far as 375 miles before it needs a fill-up or a charge. But it can also be driven up to 23 miles in battery-only mode.

????As if the i8's low-slung body wasn't sexy enough, its gullwing doors deliver a heart-fluttering caress. (BMW calls them "scissor" doors to avoid the gullwing designation first made famous by archrival Mercedes-Benz (DDAIY).)

????BMW's $41,400 i3 already appears to be a hit. The automaker said in April that it was increasing the rate of production to 100 cars per day, in the face of strong initial demand. Both models are built at BMW's factory in Leipzig, Germany, which is powered in part by wind turbines.

????BMW has dabbled with carbon fiber previously: Its extensive use in i3 and i8, like Ford Motor Company's (F) decision to manufacture its next-generation F Series pickup from aluminum, are signs that environmental concerns are growing daily as a critical factor in vehicle design.