Simply Carbon fiber is essentially carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, which is made up of a weave of thin fibers held together by a resin. It's both light and robust, at least in the direction it's supposed to take a load—the body panels of a Corvette ZR1 are around one-fifth the weight of identical steel panels.Traditional woven carbon fiber, like a diamond, is incredibly durable in some load paths but fragile in others; any modern Formula 1 car crash is a perfect example of when this material fails.