Press release

It accelerates from 0 to 100 in 3.7 seconds, reaches a maximum speed of 325 kilometers per hour, and weighs 1,480 kilograms. The Lexus LFA is already sold out on the Japanese market, although production won't begin until late this year. The car is a lightweight among supercars, thanks to a passenger compartment constructed of a fiber-plastic composite. According to Lexus, this sandwich structure weighs 100 kilograms less than a comparable passenger compartment made of aluminum. The floor segments and the tunnel between the exterior carbon-fiber cover layers contain a structural core made of ROHACELL^® polymethacrylimide foam (PMI) from Evonik Industries.

The aerospace industry has been using ROHACELL^® for years as a lightweight structuring core material, whose reliability also lowers the costs of producing sandwich structures. With its efficient quality management—a must for this sector—Evonik was well equipped to supply its first major automobile manufacturer. The SHAPES department at the Darmstadt site produces a wide array of complex three-dimensionally milled parts and ships them to Japan. A heat-resistant ROHACELL^® type with high compressive strength is used in the floor and tunnel segments of the sports car. The closed-cell foam also absorbs a minimal amount of resin on the surface, thereby helping to cut excess weight.