Ten Future Materials That Should Be In Your Next Car
Car design’s next great step won’t come from a sketch but from a substance. Jalopnik readers know ten materials both new and old, that could change car design for the better.
For the past four or five decades, the basic shape and design of production cars haven’t really changed. We still mostly have front-engine layouts built with unibody chassis. What has changed are the materials used in car construction.
We have seen significant reductions in the weight of cars with new construction materials like high-strength steels and aluminum. Unfortunately, all of these savings have been counteracted by stouter, bigger car designs, as well as heavy new safety features.
Still, we hold out great hope for new materials to cut the weight of everyday cars, and renewable materials to make interiors nice again. Somehow we have to get away from the plastic cocoons we drive in today.
10.) Carbon Nanotubes
9.) Bamboo
8.) Coconut Husks
7.) Aerogels
6.) Composite Engines
5.) Metal Interiors
4.) 3D-Printed Plastics
The idea of printing your own car components from free, Google Books-style manuals is one of the most liberating concepts we’ve heard of in recent years. It would liberate car construction to the point that we could be downloading whole cars.
Suggested By: mrbaits, Photo Credit: Jason Torchinsky
3.) Cloth
2.) Cellulose Nanocrystals
1.) Carbon Fiber
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