The carbon fibre sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin, or prepreg, made by Toho Tenax, Teijin Group’s carbon fibres and composites company, is used in the lightweight body of an electric racecar operated by TEAM APEV with MONSTER SPORT.

The advanced electric car will race in the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, US, from 22-28 June.

Teijin has been accelerating its carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) business, particularly in response to the fast-growing demand for lightweight automotive bodies. Going forward, Teijin expects to become Japan’s leading provider of CFRP composites for automotive applications.

Flexibility and weight reduction

The racing team is a joint project of the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) and Tajima Motor Corporation. The electric racecar is called the 2015 Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One.

Tajima Motor, which produced its electric racecar for this race, is a motor sports leader. Toho Tenax collaborated with Tajima Motor in using its prepreg to help improve the racecar’s safety, design flexibility and weight reduction.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a time-honoured car race that first ran in 1916. It is held in the Rocky Mountains on Pike’ Peak. The course runs toward the summit of the mountain, making a vertical climb of 1,439 meters.

Teijin Group

Teijin is a technology-driven group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare.

Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibres, such as aramid, carbon fibres and composites, healthcare, films, resin and plastic processing, polyester fibres, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide.

www.teijin.com