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Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche buys stake in carbon fiber partsmaker, Formula E runs on solar

The US Department of Energy is providing $35 million in new funding for fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. The money will fund projects to advance technology and speed up adoption of fuel cell applications like light-duty vehicles. Categories for possible projects include deployment of fuel-cell electric hybrid vehicles, mobile refueling and one called "Crosscutting: America's Climate Communities of Excellence." Other possible projects include research and development for hydrogen production, delivery and fuel cell manufacturing. Read more from the DOE. Porsche will buy a 25.1-percent stake in carbon fiber parts manufacturer Capricorn Composite GmbH. Capricorn has provided parts for Porsche's LMP1 racecar and 918 Spyder. The deal will give the automaker better access to the lightweight material going forward, and will "build on joint work over many years in the motor-sports industry and secure the future," according to Porsche. Porsche's parent company Volkswagen owns almost 10 percent of Capricorn's competitor SGL Carbon SE, but an expansion of that ownership could be thwarted by BMW, which controls more of SGL's stock. Read more at Bloomberg. The electric racecars running in the Formula E Miami ePrix will use solar energy. Florida Power & Light (FPL) will provide the electricity the cars will be using for the race on March 14, and its Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center provided the electricity the cars used during the announcement event. "Our partnership with Formula E and the Miami ePrix is another example of our commitment to advancing zero-emissions solar energy and the use of electric vehicles in Florida," says FPL President and CEO Eric Silagy. FPL currently operates two other solar plants, with plans to install 1 million solar panels at three more power plants by the end of next year. Read more at Domestic Fuel. Featured Gallery 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder: First Drive View 51 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Formula E Buenos Aires ePrix View 28 Photos News Source: DOE, Bloomberg, Domestic FuelImage Credit: Porsche Government/Legal Green Motorsports Porsche Alternative Fuels Electric Hydrogen Cars recharge wrapup

Audi and Porsche squabble over future product platforms

In the buildup to the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi delivered an amusing video that worked on the playful rivalry between the German brand and its favorite frenemy, Porsche. We called it sibling rivalry, and at the time, it may have been just that. But just like sibling rivalries, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and that's just what seems to be about to happen in the formerly peaceful Volkswagen Group family.
A new report from Automobile calls out the growing animosity between Porsche, who is backed up by Bentley, and Audi, whose primary ally is Lamborghini. No blows have actually been thrown, although there is a fair amount of "he said, she said" going on.
As Porsche tells it, for example, the new global fullsize SUV architecture being developed by Audi isn't up to snuff, citing size and structure issues, as well as an inability to accommodate a wide variety of engines.

Why won't automakers slap on a turbo badge anymore?

Where have all the turbos gone? Not the actual pieces that go in the engine, mind you, those are everywhere these days as automakers downsize cylinder counts and boost efficiency and CO2 claims. But the turbo badges and fanfare are missing. Back when turbos were something to get excited about there was "turbo-driven," "turbonium," and "The Turbo Zone," among other silly lines. But now that basically every car is getting some sort of boost even on the lowliest trims, automakers are almost sliding in the turbos under the radar. Or if you look at some of the nomenclature, pretending they don't exist at all. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border. The latest automaker to hide that it has boosted the turbo presence is Porsche with the 2017 911 lineup. Even the standard Carrera models now get turbocharged flat-six engines, meaning the 911 Turbo models aren't quite as special as they once were. Porsche is in a sticky situation with this. The 911 Turbo, after all, signifies where the 911 family takes off from being a sports car and becomes the Ferrari fighter. The 911 Turbo badge shows where the car goes from being sane to lunatic. It's an important border, but now Porsche has crossed it and is trying to downplay the fact. There are a lot of exaggerations with displacement badges today, with claims the 2.0-liter turbo four in a Mercedes C Class equates to a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter six to make a C300. Volvo is pretty far up there, too, saying an XC90 T8 means V8 power, even though it's a 2.0-liter turbocharged and supercharged four with electric assist. I don't know why BMW can't just call the car a 330i Turbo, rather than inflating the numbers up to 340i. Saab tried all of this back in the '90s when it decided to turbocharge its entire lineup, from light pressure units all the way up to models actually called "Saab 9-3 HOT" (for high-output turbo). But then the brand deleted any external reference to the turbo under the hood and people wondered why they were buying a $42,000 four-cylinder convertible. And that didn't turn out well. Even though these turbo replacements often make more power than their naturally aspirated predecessors, they're very different engines. People knew something changed when they exchanged their leased 328i with a 3.0-liter six for a 328i with a 2.0-liter turbo four.