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Added on the 20/11/2017 13:30:02 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Innovation is a topic that concerns us personally and professionally every day. We are always looking for new impulses, trying to absorb relevant information like a sponge. We regularly exchange new ideas with colleagues from the Porsche Digital Lab in Berlin and are often amazed by the great ideas and projects that emerge from them. Sometimes we go unconventional ways, where we don't know if they will really help us in the end. Last but not least, innovation sometimes occurs where we don't expect it - a slight taste of magic is always in the air.
The Porsche GT Team finished the last race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in positions two and four. At the eight-hour race in Bahrain, the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Kévin Estre (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Michael Christensen (Denmark) held a well-earned lead in a gripping final sprint to the flag and was on course for the title when a Ferrari shunted the Porsche into a spin. Race Control did not penalise the competitor. The identical ca. 515 PS sister car shared by Gianmaria Bruni from Italy, Richard Lietz from Austria and Frédéric Makowiecki from France concluded the sixth and final race of the season on fourth place in the GTE-Pro class. In the manufacturers’ classification, Porsche wrapped up the endurance season in second place. The customer teams Dempsey-Proton Racing and Project 1 notched up another success, each planting their 911 RSR on the podium in the GTE-Am category.
Porsche has presented the new 911 on snow and ice. After the world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show at the end of November 2018, the eighth generation of the sports car icon was presented yesterday, Friday, at the Areit-Alm high above Zell am See in Austria. It was the first appearance of the vehicle away from a motor show. For this, a helicopter flew the new 911 to the Alm, which is located at an altitude of 1,408 metres. The presentation was accompanied by Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Production and Logistics, the brand ambassadors Walter Röhrl and Mark Webber as well as the works drivers Timo Bernhard and Richard Lietz.
1000 hours working time, 670 cups of coffee, 1450 snacks, 36 attendees and six teams: These are the figures of our first internal Porsche Infotainment Hackathon, which took place in the end of January at our R&D center Weissach, near Stuttgart.
The brand with the four rings entered the electric era with the start of production of the Audi e-tron in the Brussels plant. The tradition-steeped production site was first extensively modernized and is now one of the most modern production sites for electric models in Europe. The electric drives are supplied by Audi’s own engine production plant in Győr, and the Brussels location has set up its own battery manufacturing facility. Many experiences from the production of the e-tron in Brussels are now being incorporated in the new BEV projects and the establishment of further production sites for electric vehicles.For the production of future electric models, Audi is relying on a high level of flexibility and valuable synergies within the Group: For example, the PPE platform (Premium Platform Electric) for the large electric cars was developed in cooperation with Porsche. The aim is to produce the PPE models at existing locations. The vehicle concept is based on the standardized plant structures and can be transferred to other factories quickly.Audi is also relying on synergy effects for the smaller models on the basis of the MEB platform (modular electrification platform): The production model of Audi Q4 e-tron concept, an electric SUV in the A segment, will roll off the assembly line at the Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, together with models from the VW and SEAT brands. Bundling the platforms in production this way enables the future large-volume electric models to be produced in large quantities and with great efficiency. The most important parts of the MEB models are made in the Group’s component plants, mainly in Kassel (drive modules), Salzgitter (electric motor parts) and Brunswick (batteries and suspension parts).Preparations for the production model of Audi e-tron GT concept, which will roll off the assembly line in the Böllinger Höfe near Neckarsulm together with the Audi R8 as of the end of 2020, are also already underway. While the high-performance sports car with a combustion engine is still made predominantly by hand, the electric Gran Turismo is to be manufactured with a higher degree of automation in the body shop. Both models pass through the same assembly, which is currently being expanded by 20 cycles to 36 cycles, as well as an overhead conveyor. Specific electric elements of the vehicle, such as the battery system, the drive or the thermal management, are prepared in special pre-assemblies and installed on the assembly line as a finished module.The plug-in hybrids are produced in the same locations as their respective product lines: For example the Audi Q5 TFSI e in San José Chiapa (Mexico) and the Audi A7 TFSI e in Neckarsulm. Audi is currently making two electrified models in local production in China: the A6 L e-tron and the Q2 L e-tron; the Audi e-tron will follow as of 2020.
In its second We Drive event, Porsche Cars Great Britain staged a unique track day for aspiring female racing drivers, hosted by professional racer and Carrera Cup veteran Esmee Hawkey.
Porsche has secured a podium spot in the fiercely contested GTE-Pro class at the 89th edition of the Le Mans 24-hour race. The works drivers Kévin Estre from France and Neel Jani from Switzerland as well as Denmark’s Michael Christensen achieved third place in the No. 92 Porsche 911 RSR. The No. 91 sister car driven by Gianmaria Bruni from Italy, Richard Lietz from Austria and Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki wrapped up round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in fourth place. The in-house fight between the two works cars for the final podium spot was decided about an hour before the flag dropped: After sliding in the last chicane, the rear of the No. 91 had to undergo repairs and a replacement of the brakes.
Persistent rain, accidents, race red-flagged for almost nine hours: despite the most difficult conditions, Porsche and its customer teams brought six of the seven 911 GT3 R across the finish line at the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. As the best Porsche, the No. 31 entry fielded by Frikadelli Racing with works driver Mathieu Jaminet (France), Germany’s Lars Kern and Lance David Arnold, as well as Maxime Martin from Belgium, achieved seventh place. The No. 25 car campaigned by Huber Motorsport and driven by Patrick Kolb, Marco Holzer, Nico Menzel (all Germany) and Lorenzo Rocco di Torrepadula (Switzerland) won the separate Pro-Am category in the GT3 class.
Another success in the fantastic year 2019: Porsche took pole position for the 8 Hours of Bahrain
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