PLASTIC FANTASTIC: THE CARBON ENGINE
The first documented use of carbonfibre in motorsport was when some filaments gathered together as a light tow or string were used to reinforce the bodywork of the Ford GT40s that raced at Le Mans. The strands were laminated onto the glass fibre bodywork in a large criss-cross pattern which was very sparse since the cost of the fibres was $1,000 per kilogram. That equates to nearly $9,000 per kilogram in today’s money.
At the time it was an exotic material and, while it promised much, the costs kept usage limited. Today a
