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Special Story

eXasis – the "glass" car

Uninhibited, revealing. The bodywork and floor of the new "eXasis" concept car are made of transparent plastic – Bayer MaterialScience's Makrolon® polycarbonate. The cigar-shaped two-seater was developed by Swiss automotive visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht and the automotive experts at Bayer MaterialScience AG. The engine and aluminum chassis are unashamedly exposed for all to see. "This transparency stands for our openness and our desire to collaborate with processors, systems suppliers and car manufacturers to turn new ideas and engineering solutions into the car of tomorrow," says Hans-Peter Neuwald, spokesman for the AutoCreative® team, which coordinates the activities of Bayer MaterialScience with the automotive industry at global level. He knows he can count on the company's extensive product portfolio, its comprehensive know-how in processes and technologies and its many years of experience in the automotive industry. "40 years ago, we ventured a look at the automotive future when we introduced the world's first all-plastics car the "K 67". Many of the features in that vehicle have indeed since become reality," says Neuwald

$\"eXasis\", the drivable \"glass\" car: the third concept car developed by Rinspeed and Bayer MaterialScience$

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"eXasis", the drivable "glass" car: the third concept car developed by Rinspeed and Bayer MaterialScience

Many parts of this stunning vehicle are made with products and raw materials from Bayer MaterialScience – as was the case with its two predecessors, the "zaZen" and the "Senso". Eye-catching features inside are the two transparent indicator and function displays in the cockpit. They appear to hover within the driver's field of vision and are designed as touch panels. They each consist of a CD/DVD Makrolon® blank printed on the back and coated with electrically conductive Baytron® P polymer from H.C. Starck. The mechanical operating elements in the cockpit feel warm and soft and are pleasing to the touch. This comfort effect is based on a soft-feel polyurethane coating formulated from the high-grade, waterborne coating raw materials Bayhydrol® and Bayhydur®. The metal parts in the interior are finished with a special chrome effect coating based on Desmodur® and Desmophen® polyurethane raw materials. The frames of the two seats, which are positioned one behind the other, are made of 12 mm thick sheets of Makrolon® and covered with a stainless steel net. The padding of the headrest and armrest is made of transparent Technogel®, a lightfast, elastic and plasticizer-free polyurethane gel, which feels soft and warm and makes the seats particularly comfortable and relaxing. In the engine compartment, the cables are sheathed with flexible, abrasion- and media-resistant Desmopan® thermoplastic polyurethane. The transparent body parts of Makrolon® are produced by thermoforming on tools made of a polyurethane modeling foam based on Desmodur® and Desmophen® raw materials. The body and floor parts are finished with a shimmering, light yellow hard coat.

"With the new concept car, we wanted to demonstrate that our plastics are tailor-made materials that are suitable for both current trends in automotive design and assembly line production," says Neuwald. "This is very much the case, for example, with Makrolon®, which is becoming established as a new material for automotive glazing and transparent roof modules. Two other examples are the reinforced polyurethane Bayflex® 180/190 as a lightweight engineering material for body parts such as fenders and door sill covers, and special grades of Makrofol® PC film and Bayblend® polycarbonate, which can be used to create innovative instrument displays."