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RideApart
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Sport

Polaris Just Patented a Composite-Framed Snowmobile. Are Carbon Fiber Tubs Coming?

The world of supercars and hypercars is dominated by a single solitary material: carbon fiber. A composite material, it's used throughout these sports cars' bodies, their suspensions, and are even used to build the chassis on which everything sits. Why? Because these materials are lightweight, strong as shit, and can be molded into whatever shape or form these companies need. 

But carbon fiber, especially the type of carbon fiber that's used in the automotive world, is expensive to produce. You need large autoclaves, large printing machines, and all the base materials to make the carbon fiber itself, too. Hell, you should see the scale and production process for Christensen Arms' barrel wrapping on my rifle. It's a testament to just how intensive and large a production line you need even for something as simple as a number of carbon fiber sheets. 

And so, there's good reason why the vast majority of automotive manufacturers haven't adopted the technology for normal everyday use. And there's even better reason for why the powersports world, outside of a few carbon fiber panels here and there, haven't adopted it either. Margins are smaller here, and you'd need a healthy investment in the infrastructure. 

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