- 12 May 2008 -
ACG's prepreg in British sports car

ADVANCED COMPOSITES Group’s (ACG) BPS240 carbon fibre prepreg is being used for the British sports car Farbio GTS. The car’s space-frame chassis is completely clad in ACG’s BPS240 carbon fibre body panel system, and the power to weight ration is 366 bhp per tonne.

BPS240 is a ZPREG® rapid deposition system with stable, high temperature, and integrated surface film capable of producing ‘Class A’ surfaces. It also offers enhanced moulding capabilities, stable surface quality, effective processing benefits, and “significant cost saving” compared with traditional prepreg technologies.

According to ACG, BPS240 panels can be moulded from high quality, low cost composite tooling reducing manufacturing times by up to 50%.

The cumulative weight of Farbio GTS is 1066 kg due to the composite chassis and a supercharged version of the Ford 3-litre V6 Duratec engine with 384 bhp. The acceleration is 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, eclipsing the performance of both Ferrari F430 and the Lamborghini Gallardo, for half the price, says ACG.

The GTS first appeared at the 2004 Birmingham motor show, but has since gone through “significant” vehicle engineering development, body construction refinements, composite material development and new tooling. It currently has a £22 million order book.

ACG; www.acg.co.uk

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