Porsche recently unveiled their new “Bioconcept-Car” built primarily with organic materials. The automaker teamed up with researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut WKI to discover how to reduce component weight by substituting with carbon fibers.
According to registration statistics, the latest cars are progressively becoming heavier. This is primarily due to improved safety functions and increased integration of electronic equipment. This weight gain leads to higher fuel consumption.
Unfortunately, e-cars still require larger, meaning heavier, batteries. This has led to further development in lightweight design. At present, the favored solution has been lightweight steels and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics. While effective, they present manufacturing and recycling challenges—diminishing the overall positive environmental impact.
The 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport is the first car in series production to feature body parts made of natural-fiber composite materials. It was developed in the Application Center for Wood Fiber Research HOFZET (which is part of Fraunhofer WKI), along with the Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites IfBB of Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The Cayman is a lightweight vehicle, weighing only 1320 kilograms.
Instead of steel, the driver and passenger doors as well as the rear wing were built with a combination of organic fibers. This helped reduce 60% of weight from the vehicle.
The composite materials consist of a thermostat polymer matrix system reinforced with organic fibers. This organic fiber mesh was the best candidate being the most readily available and versatile material. It can be easily produced into precise dimensions and parts but still exhibits high tensile strength, even when combined with other conventionally manufactured components.
According to Fraunhofer WKI, these aspects were highly significant prerequisites in order to push through with high-volume production. Other environmental factors were also evaluated such as end-of-life recycling or reuse and scale-up approaches for in-demand parts.
"After extensive testing under extreme conditions on the racetrack we continued to evaluate our parts, which ultimately led to the conclusion that these ecologically beneficial organic materials fulfill the criteria for volume production," says Ole Hansen, project manager at Fraunhofer WKI.
The Cayman has been successfully tested on the Nürburgring last August by Smudo, frontman of German rap group “Fantastische Vier,” who is also the regular pilot of the Four Motors “Bioconcept-Car.” He was also joined by German Federal Minister for Food and Culture, Julia Klöckner.
For more on the latest developments in the automotive industry, check out the growing debate between the use of steel and aluminum in automotive manufacturing here.