PORSCHE could very well be one of the saviors of motorsport as we currently know it.
While the automotive world relentlessly chases the Electric Vehicle dream and cities, states and even countries (Australia aside, it must be said) push harder and harder to clamp down on emissions and promote the purchase of battery powered vehicles, Porsche is hedging their bets.
Because at the same time as throwing billions at their own EV programs – their first serious attempt, the Taycan, is already regarded as the benchmark in pure Electricity-powered cars – the German company is also throwing plenty of cash at synthetic biofuels that will allow the internal combustion engine to continue to live for years to come.
Porsche recently announced significant investment into what they’re calling eFuel; a synthetic, methanol-based replacement for traditional petrol made using green hydrogen produced from clean, renewable energy sources.
As well as being able to power the current raft of internal combustion engines, both new and old, Porsche’s eFuel will be able to be sold at the same petrol stations we currently all use but is expected to be up to 85% cleaner than current petroleum-based products.
Porsche have also said that a car powered by the eFuels will actually be cleaner than their own pure-EV products, when factoring in the impact to the environment that producing the batteries need to power them has.
Interviewed in the latest issue of Porsche’s in-house publication, Christophorus, Albert Reimold, member of the Porsche Executive Board for Production and Logistics, said he anticipated that combustion engines would remain a part of the Porsche product line well into the 2050s.
“The answer is a clear yes! Here at Porsche we adopted a clear and sustainable product strategy years ago. It’s based on the three pillars of fuel-efficient combustion engines, low-emission hybrid models and all-electric vehicles. Low-emission technologies are playing an even greater role.
“Combustion engines still have a lot of potential when it comes to meeting stricter environmental regulations.”
Porsche’s plan, of course, is first and foremost self-serving because offering a product that allows their customers to keep their array of classic models on the road for longer is only beneficial to the brand – and Porsche’s have a track record of lasting a very long time.
The side-effect, of course, is that the more mainstream brands invest in this kind of technology, alongside advancements in battery-powered vehicles, the more chance of motorsport continuing to be loud and proud for the years to come only gets better and better.
And that is important because for what I suspect are a vast majority of racing fans, going car racing without the sound sucks the life out of a race.
It’s the same reason sporting broadcasters added fake noise to the games of football played in empty stadiums last year during the height of the Pandemic: Without the sound, the soul disappears and the experience is lessened.
There will be, and is already, space for all-EV racing but it is certifiable should people expect the likes of Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR and Supercars to make the EV switch. Add hybridization, sure, but going silent would kill each of them quicker than I think some would imagine, doing enormous damage to the sport in the process.
Of course, series like F1 that are backed by big brands will ultimately do what the major manufacturers involved want – but you’d like to believe they are intelligent enough to know that you can have all the brands in the world, but if the show isn’t truly visceral for the fans then there’s not much point in doing it.
Other championships that already exist are proof of that point.
Again, Porsche are hedging their bets here because while they’re involved in Formula E in a big way, it’s not like their taking their foot off other forms of the sport either; their recent return to Sports Car racing (with Roger Penske) on both sides of the Atlantic proof positive of that.
Porsche, of course, aren’t the only ones investing in biofuel technology.
Formula 1 and the FIA already use more than 5% of bio-products in the current fuel used in the sport, with that planned to increase to 10% in coming years. A plan to run 100% biofuel for the change of Power unit regulations in 2025 seems to be on track.
IndyCar has used corn-based Ethanol for some time (at 85%) and for a time were even sponsored by the Iowa-based Corn growers who provided the crop for the product they burned.
Porsche’s investment into fully synthetic fuels is, if anything, a confidence boost for those of us who don’t want to see the racing world go fully EV.
Few brands in the world have more significant long-term investment in Motorsport than the boys and girls from Stuttgart and few brands are as respected for their success over a long, long time.
So as long as they believe the pistons will keep going up and down, our sport should continue to bring the noise for years to come.
Comments