HOME Porsche logo

From pit stop to Porsche Centre

From pit stop to Porsche Centre

06/8/2020

Technological innovations from motorsports have always carried over to series production design at Porsche. The same applies to Formula E. We look back at the relationship between racetrack and road for the Porsche Taycan.

Advancing progress in overall electric mobility is a goal shared with the Formula E organisers. The racing formula is not designed to be an exclusive technology reserve, instead it intends to motivate series production innovation as seen on the Taycan.

Formula E specifies the vehicle chassis and standardized battery. However, all the powertrain components are the teams’ own designs. It allows the engineers to focus on the actual electric drive instead of investing lots of money in expensive secondary issues such as aerodynamics. This focus transfers itself into the road cars. In the case of the Taycan, the high stress that Formula E cars face whilst on track gives vital insight into how a road car such as the Taycan will behave. This knowledge is what lead the Taycan to be able to do multiple fast starts without any overheating or energy loss.

Another recent example is the Porsche Hybrid 919 which claimed three constructor world championship titles and won three times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The LMP’s crucial advantage was that it is able to store and supply energy very quickly. This was why the engineers chose an internal voltage of 800 volts over the otherwise common 400 volts. This resulted in the Taycan’s 800 volt architecture.

But perhaps even more significant is how technology transfers through the minds of people. “Many on the Taycan team are former members of the team that previously developed the 918 Spyder,” Wiedenbrügge shares. Team transfers like this are common practice at Porsche. This way, an expert in noise vibration harshness engineering working in series development can help the motor racers get a handle on the electric race car’s vibrations. 

Motor racing and series production: crossing over between the two fields has a long tradition at Porsche. Electric vehicles are no exception. The Taycan thus benefits from experience gained with the Porsche 919 Hybrid. Joint expert committees guarantee that new ideas will continue to cross over between racing and series production teams in future.

Please contact 01642 939439 or info@porscheteesside.co.uk for further details on the Porsche Taycan.