TEXTILES.ORG
Teijin Limited, Tokyo, says its carbon fiber sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin, or prepreg, made by Toho Tenax Co. Ltd. (the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business), was used in the lightweight body of the electric racecar that competed in the world-famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado in late June.
The electric racecar was operated by “TEAM APEV with MONSTER SPORT.” To preserve the environment and to realize a self -sustainable society through promotion of electric vehicles, Chairman Soichiro Fukutake of the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) formed the Pikes Peak EV Challenge Committee. This is the fourth year of the TEAM APEV challenge. The racing team is a joint project of the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles (APEV) and Tajima Motor Corp. Ltd. The electric racecar is called the 2015 Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One.
Teijin Group has been accelerating its carbon fiber-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. 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 first ran in 1916. The course runs toward the summit of the mountain, making a vertical climb of 1,439 meters.