In early July, Tras Ltd., a Japan-based company, unveiled the new natural fiber body for the Toyota Hilux, which will compete in the Asia Cross Country Rally in Thailand from August 8 to 16. SGL Carbon supplied the pre-impregnated materials, known as prepregs, for the car's body. These materials are manufactured at the SGL site in Willich, Germany. With several components made of natural fiber composites, the car stands out with the natural look of the flax fibers.
SGL Carbon has been involved in developing prepregs and components made from natural fibers, such as flax, for several years. The flax fiber fabric is manufactured by Bcomp, a Swiss cleantech company with which SGL has collaborated on various projects for some time. At the SGL site in Willich, the ampliTex™ flax fiber fabric is pre-impregnated with a matrix material.
“A major challenge was the comparatively high moisture absorption of the flax fibers. We therefore used a special transparent, fast-curing resin system that has proven particularly resistant to and tolerant of the high moisture content of the natural fibers. This ensures an attractive appearance of the components as well as the good mechanical and thermal properties of the composite material, which are particularly important in motorsports,” explains Dr. Thomas Meinhardt, Team Lead Technical Marketing Prepregs at SGL Carbon.
The finished prepregs were then processed into the final components by Tras. The company specializes in manufacturing, testing, and demonstrating car bodies made from natural fibers. “The use of the special resin system was an important improvement for us, as we often face very high humidity in Asia, yet the components must still meet the rigorous demands of racing. With this natural car body, we now have a lightweight, sustainable component that looks great too,” says Masanao Nitta, CEO of Tras Ltd.
Advantages of Flax Fiber Components
Components made from Bcomp's flax fiber technologies offer up to 85% lower CO₂ footprint from cradle to gate compared to pure carbon fiber parts, thanks to the use of renewable raw materials and the possibility of end-of-life thermal energy recovery.
Additionally, every gram of weight counts, especially in motorsports. Composites with flax fibers from Bcomp offer a sustainable lightweight solution. In combination with the powerRibs™ reinforcement grid, similar stiffness and weight as pure carbon fiber components can be achieved. Furthermore, the natural fiber components perform well in crash tests and provide very good vibration damping, making them useful for demanding motorsport applications.
Toyota subsidiary TCD (Toyota Customizing & Development) and its brands TRD and MODELLISTA, which specialize in converting vehicles into sports and special models, also expressed considerable interest in the project. Due to the high quality of the product, natural fibers may be used in future developments.
