Following the recent news of its collaboration with BMW to integrate natural fibre composites into series production road cars, Bcomp has announced further progress in motorsport. 

Porsche Motorsport and racing team Four Motors have incorporated grey-toned Bcomp components into the hood, rear wing end plates and front bumper dive planes of the Porsche GT3 Cup car.

Previously made from aluminium and carbon fibre, these parts were manufactured using Bcomp’s coloured ampliTex flax fibre reinforcement fabrics 

This collaboration builds on previous projects with Porsche Motorsport, including the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS, Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport, and Porsche Mission R.

“Our collaboration with Porsche Motorsport and Four Motors provides an avenue for joint innovation,” says Ken Kruck, motorsports sales representative at Bcomp. “Newly-developed processes allow us to deliver a new look for natural fibre composites that is not only high-performing, but also road relevant. Following the success of coloured ampliTex in road car interiors, we are proud to bring this Bcomp grey as our signature motorsport colour to race cars.”

The Bcomp grey tone of the parts showcases how natural materials can be tailored to blend seamlessly with high-performance design, beyond the natural gold-brown appearance of flax-fibres seen in earlier models. Road relevance is further reinforced by painted surfaces on the exterior parts, rather than the foil typically used in race components. While adhesive films are used to allow for rapid design changes, the use of paint further demonstrates the feasibility of natural fibre composites in high-performance road cars.

When produced in an autoclave in combination with Bcomp’s powerRibs, the natural fibre parts can achieve an equivalent stiffness and weight to carbon-fibre components. They also meet and even surpass the same high safety and quality standards, offering 250% better vibration damping and improved crash behaviour, mitigating against the splintering often associated with carbon fibre. Further to this, ampliTex is manufactured with significantly less energy, enabling a CO2 emissions reduction of up to 85%.

“A major paradigm shift is taking place,” said Thomas von Löwis, CEO and driver at Four Motors. “In showcasing the latest advancements in sustainable technologies through racing, we are not only inspiring change within motorsport but also facilitating progress in other vital mobility sectors, further demonstrating our commitment to – and ambition for – a greener future for the sector.”

www.bcomp.com