????未來寶馬汽車還會變得更輕。上周，寶馬宣布它已經購入西格里碳素集團（SGL Carbon SE）5%的股權。這家公司主要生產碳纖維。這是一種先進的輕量材料，已經用到了波音（Boeing）898夢想客機的身上。這標志著寶馬做出了戰略性的變革，因為寶馬過去一向避免與供應商通過財務關系捆綁在一起，同時說明寶馬未來會加大對碳纖維的使用。由于碳纖維的高成本和復雜性，因此寶馬對它的使用還比較謹慎，但它未來必然會在寶馬汽車上扮演更大的角色。

????那么碳纖維究竟會扮演多大的角色？我們可以在本月初的洛杉磯車展上一窺全豹。首先寶馬在這次車展上推出了i3這款電池動力轎車，它使用了鋁合金框架和碳纖維車身，重量只相當于一臺普通寶馬3系轎車的80%。在全電動模式下，i3每次充滿電可續航80英里，對于大多數用戶都應該夠用了。不放心的車主還可以選擇另一款車型，它的殷勤稍小。寶馬i3是作為城市通勤車來設計的，而且它的車門設計最大化地方便了用戶進出后排座位。而且它的動力也無愧于寶馬的藍白車標：它從靜止到時速60公里只需不到8秒鐘。這款車將在2013年上市，售價約在4萬美元左右。

????除了電池動力的i3，寶馬還推出了一款更洋氣的插電式混合動力轎車——寶馬i8。這也是一款采用了碳纖維車身的運動轎車。它的性能令人大開眼界。它只需4.5秒便能狂飆至時速60英里，最高時速可達每小時155英里。更體貼的是，i8可以在純電動模式下續航20英里左右，然后換至汽油動力。I8也采取了和i3一樣的2+2設計，車展上展出的i8概念車安裝了中看但不實用的蝴蝶式車門，不過這種車門估計不會出現在量產版上。I8量產車定于2014年上市，價格可能將超過10萬美元。

????寶馬一直是電動車領域的先行者，只是很少有人注意到這一點。就在通用（GM）和日產（Nissan）大打口水仗，爭論誰的電動車更強悍時，寶馬已經在對500臺Mini Cooper進行路試，它們的后座都被鋰離子電池取代了。據說在理想情況下，Mini E的續航里程可達156英里。

????寶馬的測試還發現了一些有價值的結果。2011年5月，位于加州大學戴維斯分校（at the University of California, Davis）的插電式混合動力汽車與電動汽車研究中心（Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center）針對美國Mini E的路試進行一項消費者研究。結果顯示，老百姓會根據電動車的功能來調整駕駛習慣；受訪者同時表示，Mini E能滿足他們90%的日常駕駛需求。另一份英國的研究顯示，消費者要想適應純電動汽車的特點和種種新奇的駕駛要求，比如充電、續航里程、再生制動和低噪音等，只需要短短一星期時間即可適應。

????不論Mini E這樣的電動汽車最終是否能夠實現量產，毋庸置疑的是，寶馬顯然著眼未來，而且正在勾畫穩步前進的藍圖。寶馬一向以生產嚴謹的高性能汽車出名。許多分析師認為，這有可能成為寶馬增長的拖累。然而，現在的事實證明，這其實是一項寶貴的資產，能夠幫助寶馬公司更好地迎接后石油時代的21世紀。

????譯者：樸成奎

????BMW cars will be getting even lighter in the future. Last week, the company announced it has bought a 5% stake in SGL Carbon SE, a company that makes carbon fiber -- the advanced lightweight material used in building the Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) 787 Dreamliner. The purchase represents a change in strategy for BMW, which heretofore has shunned financial ties with suppliers and points to its increased use in future BMWs. But carbon fiber, which is used only sparingly now because of its cost and complexity, is understudying for a larger role.

????BMW demonstrated just how large a role at the Los Angeles auto show earlier this month. For starters, it unveiled the i3, a battery-powered car with a carbon fiber body affixed to an aluminum frame that weighs just 80% as much as a typical 3-series. In all-electric mode, the i3 is designed to achieve a range of 80 miles per charge, which should be enough for most uses. For those who feel nervous, a second model will be available with a smaller engine. The i3 is designed as a commuter car and features carriage doors that maximize access to the rear seat. It can wear the BMW blue-and-white spinning propeller with pride: It scoots to 60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds. Models go on sale in 2013; figure on a price around $40,000.

????Far more exotic is a carbon fiber sports car, the i8 plug-in hybrid. Performance is eye-popping: The i8 screams to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and is capable of getting to a top speed of 155 mph. More pertinently, the i8 can travel around 20 miles on pure electric power before switching over to gasoline. Another 2+2 like the i3, the i8 concept was equipped with impractical butterfly doors for the show that are unlikely to show up on the production version. It is due to go on sale in 2014, and you can expect to pay in excess of $100,000.

????BMW has been an unheralded pioneer in electric cars. While General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Nissan have been jousting over bagging rights, BMW has been field-testing 500 Mini Coopers whose back seats have been replaced by a pack of lithium ion batteries. Under idea conditions, the Mini E is said to be capable of a range of 156 miles.

????The tests have produced some valuable findings. In May 2011 the Plug-in Hybrid & Electric Vehicle (PH&EV) Research Center at the University of California, Davis published the results of a consumer study of the U.S. Mini E field trial. The study showed that households adapted their driving around the capabilities of the electric car, and respondents said the Mini E met 90% of their daily driving needs. Another study in the U.K. found that one week was all that was needed for customers to adapt to the characteristics and peculiarities of driving an EV, such as charging, range, regenerative braking, and low noise.

????Whether or not a car like the Mini E ever makes it into production, BMW clearly has its eye on the future -- and is developing a coherent storyline about how to get there. It has found that its highly-focused reputation for producing driving machines, which many analysts believed would be a drag, is actually turning out to be an asset in getting ready for the post-oil 21st century.