BMW plans to rollout carbon-fibre wheels

BMW is gearing up to produce carbon-fibre wheels based on patents the company made while developing their i3 and i8 electric vehicles. These wheels may find their way into several vehicles such as  BMW, Rolls-Royce and may be even the Minis by the end of 2014.

BMW has been experimenting with propeller shaft and different carbon plastic compound for quite some time. According to reports BMW is stepping-up up to introduce a wide range of carbon-fibre products in the next two years. BMW is also working on an aluminum carbon-fibre hybrid wheel which is said to be 25 per cent lighter than the alloy wheels, while the full carbon-fibre wheel is expected to be 35 per cent lighter than the alloy wheels.

With lighter wheels BMW is planning to increase the speed of their vehicles, increase fuel economy and also improve handling. According to the German car manufacturer carbon wheels are more damage resistant than the alloy wheels.

BMW is awaiting approval from the European Union (EU) for their carbon-fibre steering wheel. BMW is also not the first manufacturer to develop carbon-fibre wheels, the Swedish manufacturer Koenigsegg, had offered carbon-fibre wheels in their Agera R model, since April 2012.