Upcoming VW Passat Might Receive Carbon Fiber Roof

VW is examining the use of aluminum and carbon fiber materials for the roof panel of its next-gen Passat, the automaker’s R&D Head Ulrich Hackenberg informed. 

It’s not profitable for use in top volume vehicles, but implementing the material in some areas will make sense, he informed in an interview with Carsbase. 

“If I substitute a roof from steel to carbon fiber, I can liberate 10 kg. If you have a less weight in the roof area, you decrease the center of gravity, that’s good for the vehicle,” he told. But making carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) panels is sluggish.

Porsche nowadays has a technology to make CFRP details like those placed in the 918 Spyder in about half an hour. While that’s quicker than the hours it took before, it’s still too sluggish for mass production. Hackenberg believes the process can be fastened to a couple of minutes.

Using the lightweight details in something like the Passat could make sense if production barriers could be prevailed. Hackenberg informs it would save about 22 pounds and move the vehicle’s center of gravity lower.

Before that’s reached, VW is already starting to offer carbon fiber in some of its lower-end cars. For instance, the performance variants of the 7th-gen Golf will be presented with an optional carbon fiber roof.