A Porsche Race Car Just Hit the Race Track With Body Parts from Renewable Raw Materials
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR tackled this year‘s Nürburgring 24-hour race featuring a sustainable innovation: a complete body kit made of natural-fiber composite materials.
At this year’s Nürburgring 24-hour race, the team Four Motors joined forces with Project 1 Motorsport to present a sustainable innovation on the racetrack that could change the production of car body parts in the future: Fitted with a natural-fiber composite material body kit and powered by a 3.8-liter flat-six engine producing 313 kW (425 PS), the 718 Cayman GT4 MR took up the Nürburgring 24-hour race sporting the starting number 420.
Since early 2019, Porsche manufactured the two doors and the rear wing of the small series racing vehicle out of a natural-fiber mix, sourced primarily from renewable raw materials. Now for the first time, the front and rear aprons, the front spoiler, front and rear lids as well as the mudguards and diffuser including the aerodynamic fins are also made of this regenerative material.
The natural fiber composite meets the same high safety and quality standards as carbon fiber
These materials replace the metal and plastic injection molded components of the production sports car. In terms of weight and stiffness, the recyclable natural-fiber composite materials of non-structural components share properties similar to carbon-fiber composites (CFRP) and meet the same high safety and quality standards. Natural-fiber composites can be manufactured more economically and with less energy.
Farmed flax fibers serve as the basis of the sustainable natural-fiber composite material — without conflicting with food crops. This development began in 2016 with collaboration between Porsche, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the Fraunhofer WKI, and the Swiss company Bcomp.
Damping of vibrations is improved fivefold by the regenerative material
For the doors, light balsa wood serves as the core of the composite material. The sandwich construction correlates to the well-known resin transfer molding (RTM) process used in the production of carbon-fiber components. By contrast, for the rear wing, layers are impregnated with epoxy resin then baked in an autoclave. The newly added components made of natural-fiber reinforced plastic are created using a vacuum infusion process and contain Bcomp’s proprietary powerRibs™ technology to fulfill stiffness requirements.
Materials of varying thicknesses and fiber orientations ensure the precise adjustment to specific purposes and load scenarios. Natural-fiber composite materials are particularly suited to areas that are not or only partially part of the vehicle structure. Moreover, the damping of vibrations improves fivefold and, in the case of an accident, splinter into larger and less sharp pieces.
If the analysis of the test outing at the endurance classic goes well, it is likely that Manthey-Racing will offer the parts kit to customers.
About this publication: Where innovation meets tradition. There’s more to Porsche than sports cars — we’re tackling new challenges, develop digital products and think digital with a focus on the customer. On our Medium blog, we tell these stories. It’s about our #nextvisions, smart technologies and the people that drive our digital journey. Please follow us on Twitter (Porsche Digital, Next Visions), Instagram (Porsche Digital, Next Visions, Porsche Newsroom) and LinkedIn (Porsche AG, Porsche Digital) for more.
