The big composites news in April was Audi's revelation that it's next generation A8 would feature a large carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) part in its spaceframe. The Volkswagen-owned carmaker joins BMW in a rather exclusive club-those using CFRP in high volumes. Both Audi and BMW benefit not only from CFRP's singular set of properties -stiffness, strength and low mass - but also from the material's bleeding-edge image, which burnishes their reputation for refined luxury and precision engineering.
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