--- title: "BMW Invented What Comes After Carbon Fiber, And It’ll Be in Your Next M Car" date: "2025-06-18" modified: "2025-06-18" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/bmw-invented-what-comes-after-carbon-fiber-and-itll-be-in-your-next-m-car" categories: - "BMW News" - "Car Tech" - "Manufacturing" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Racing" tags: - "BMW" - "sports car" --- # BMW Invented What Comes After Carbon Fiber, And It’ll Be in Your Next M Car ![BMW flax-based natural fiber]() *\BMW\* [BMW]()'s carbon fiber roof parts will soon be replaced with plant fiber. When the [BMW M4]() GT4 hits the Nürburgring for its next 24-hour race, it'll be race-testing the same flax-based natural fiber composites. I don't think that means you'll be able to eat your Bimmer (yet), but it should make their construction more environmentally friendly. Visible trim pieces on M cars that have been carbon in the past will start to be replaced with this similar-looking plant stuff. BMW [announced]() this week that its flax-fiber (not the official name) has been "confirmed for series maturity," meaning ready for mass production. ![Flax-fiber roof panel.]() ![Flax-fiber BMW rear valance.]() ![Flax-fiber close-up.]() The German automaker been working with Swiss clean-tech company Bcomp for several years to develop new lightweight composites from renewable raw materials. And while natural fibers have been tested in BMW's racing cars for some time (Formula E in 2019, M4 GT4 and DTM later), the idea is finally making its way to road cars. BMW has a stake in Bcomp through its venture capital arm, called [BMW i Ventures](). ![Flax-fiber rear splitter]() **BMW** The ultimate goal is to reduce carbon emissions (at a corporate level—not the tailpipe emissions of the individual cars it's fitted to). As the brand states in its release, "Lightweight construction has long been a crucial development field for the BMW Group. The use of natural fibers with a reduced CO₂e footprint in composite materials has become increasingly important. Materials tests have demonstrated the fibers’ great suitability, especially for visible exterior and interior components." Soon, BMW's going to swap carbon fiber roofs in its road cars for this stuff, claiming that it'll cut corporate emissions by "around 40% in production." I'm into it—looks good in these demo photos the company shared. ![Flax before it becomes a car part.]() ![Flax "carbon fiber" replacement.]() *Got a tip? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com.* ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()