What Are The Panels Made Of?

Every now and then I get the question, what plastic are the exterior panels made of.

It’s so rarely asked that I never bothered making a page about it but I just got asked it again and it took me far too long going through all my notebooks to find the information. There is no order to my notebooks.

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450 Fortwo Panels

Xenoy (trademark – SABIC)

PBTPC (aka PCPBT)
A blend of PolyButylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate. The panels also had a Polyurethane clearcoat.

After about 15 years, this plastic becomes brittle and the panels break easily. Especially when removing door panels and any impacts.

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451 Fortwo Panels

Daplen ED230HP (trademark Borealis Ag)

PP – PolyPropylene
Thermoplastic PolyPropylene for injection moulding.

This blend of plastic has a lower rigidity and a higher resiliance to UV so they are more flexible and less likely to crack.

Roof

PC – Polycarbonate

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452 Roadster

Xenoy (trademark – SABIC)

PBTPC (aka PCPBT)
A blend of PolyButylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate. The panels also had a Polyurethane clearcoat.

After about 15 years, this plastic becomes brittle and the panels break easily. Especially when removing door panels and any impacts.

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453 Fortwo & Forfour Panels

PP – PolyPropylene with 15% filler (probably talc).
Thermoplastic PolyPropylene for injection moulding.

The bonnet/hood has a black plastic reinforcement piece made from Polyethylene with 15% filler.

Forfour door panels are steel, not plastic.

Roof

PC – Polycarbonate

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454 Forfour

Xenoy (trademark – SABIC)

PBTPC (aka PCPBT)
A blend of PolyButylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate. The panels also had a Polyurethane clearcoat.

After about 15 years, this plastic becomes brittle and the panels break easily. Especially when removing door panels and any impacts.