As high-level automotive engineers and executives go, Porsche GT project director Andreas Preuninger is one of the most forthcoming and affable interviews around. Not content simply to give an answer, he’ll wander off script and let the pitch of his voice change to emphasize the good bits. Of course, coming from the guy responsible for the development of some of the most impressive and highly sought-after performance vehicles in the world, they’re almost all good bits. We caught up with him earlier this year, at the 2017 New York auto show.
Car and Driver: Your first car was a Volkswagen Scirocco, followed by other VWs that you modified. Do those experiences inform the decisions or processes you use today to develop Porsches?
Andreas Preuninger: Subconsciously, very much. At the age of 18, I had a Mark 1 [Volkswagen] Scirocco 1600 with a five-speed manual, and at that time [mine] was a quick car with an eight-second zero-to-60-mph time, and it was light and nimble with a sleek profile. I had this thing of getting the weight out, and I was always experimenting with wheels and tires and lowering, which served as my first experiences of how small changes can affect how a suspension and even aerodynamics work. Later, I moved on to the Mark 2 16-valve, but really it was kids’ games. When these cars could no longer feed my need for excitement, I moved on to a turbocharged four-wheel-drive [Lancia] Delta Integrale rally car, which had turbo lag like the Grand Canyon but was so much fun. But here is the point: It had an Alcantara interior, and this was at the end of the ’80s. I loved the Alcantara so much, it made me introduce it in the 996 GT3 RS for the first time a couple of decades later, because I remembered how good that felt, and it wasn’t [widely] introduced in the contemporary automotive realm. We did it on the steering wheel and expanded it to the whole cabin in the first-gen GT3.
C/D: So, the quest for power has been on an upward slope since then.
AP: In general, I always liked things that were a little bit overpowered, because this is what keeps a mechanical instrument challenging. It always has to have a little bit more power than you can handle, so it never gets boring. So naturally I was drawn to GT development at Porsche. The first-generation 996 GT3 was already in the works when I came on the team, but I was fascinated by this powerful, high-revving flat-six motor and kept developing it. The car you see today [the 2018 911 GT3 on the Porsche stand] is, I think, my 15th car, my 15th baby.
C/D: Speaking of high-revving engines, let’s talk about the changes to the valvetrain in the new GT3 4.0-liter. I understand it has been revised for simplicity.
AP: Yes. Because I believe in KISS [Keep It Simple, Stupid—although we could totally see Andreas rocking out to “Detroit Rock City”—Ed.] because then it lasts, it’s easy to maintain, it’s lightweight. The reason we decided to take away the hydraulic valve adjusters was to make the engine more efficient. [Previous hydraulic designs] call for a lot of oil pressure and volume to keep them operating, which means you have to drive the oil pump harder. By taking them out, you can lower the spring rate of the valve springs, which results in less friction and makes the camshaft easier to turn. That, in turn, means less internal resistance, which results in less energy needed to turn the crankshaft. And that frees another fraction of horsepower, about 5 to 8 horsepower gained by leaving things out in this case. It also means a lot less oil that needs to come through the motor in comparison to the Gen 1 4.0-liter; and the oiling system has been revised accordingly. It helps that the new oils we’ve developed with the oil industry are very stable.
C/D: I understand that the manual-transmission GT3 uses a dual-mass flywheel.
AP: Yes, a dual-mass flywheel on the manual transmission. We had it on the 911 R as well, but you could opt for a single-mass flywheel, which most everyone did. But in the new 4.0-liter we have a different crankshaft, and it is stiffer because the main bearings are larger in diameter, which increases rotational inertia. A single-mass flywheel will fit, but we found out it hurts the main bearings. And all the people working at shops who have the great idea to fit a single-mass flywheel to the car? Don’t. It will void the warranty. But the car doesn’t need it; it revs so explosively, the 4.0-liter is such a cracker of an engine, that it doesn’t miss it.
C/D: If you were putting your own money down, would you get a PDK (dual-clutch automatic) or a manual?
AP: That is a very good question. My attitude changes almost daily. I’m driving a dark gray PDK GT3 second-gen at the moment, and I have a Guards Red with manual as well. I’m really happy I don’t have to make this decision. I think track-oriented people should go PDK, but for the driver who really likes to think, be challenged, and wants to be an integral part of the drivetrain, the manual provides a very satisfying experience. Those who spend a lot of time in traffic will like the PDK, too. Even though the GT3 clutch is lighter, the PDK is easier in traffic.
C/D: The PDK is faster, too, right?
AP: Not as much as many people would think. The launch, definitely. But who is launching this car on a regular basis? It’s your driveshaft and tires. Do you want to replace them every other week? And if the car is in gear, and you are side by side with a PDK driver—I don’t just believe in numbers, I want to see it—rolling at, say, 20 mph and you’re good with a manual, which is 17 kilos [37 pounds] lighter, you won’t see that much of a lead from the PDK car until about 160 mph.
C/D: What do you think the take rate will be?
AP: We think it will be around 35/65 percent manual/PDK. But it’s hard to tell because currently only the PDK is on sale. We have many bets going inside the company. I don’t envy the people who have to make that calculation.
C/D: What’s the latest on the return of the GT2?
AP: Expect to hear from us this year.
C/D: Now that the 918 Spyder has set new standards for a hybrid vehicle, where do you go to top that?
AP: Personally, I’m an old-school guy, but I love the 918 Spyder. It has given me one of the most intense driving sensations since the Carrera GT. I love to speed between villages and then put it in E and whistle through the town with no one yelling at you. It’s as fierce as it can get. To top it, I don’t know, but that’s hypothetical, as we don’t currently have any new hypercar in development—that we are openly discussing. That said, would it make sense to do another hybrid? As Porsche, we need to be the leaders of any movement, and that is why we are doing the [Mission E] electric car. As a company, we have to do it [EV and hybrids], but maybe it doesn’t make sense to do it on a GT level. Not yet. If someone decides all motorsport would be all hybrid in the future, different story.
I take my hat off to the new Acura NSX; how they did it is very clever. But that is a sports car. A GT car is a very different thing.
C/D: Everyone wants to know—do you still have a Hemi-powered Ram pickup?
AP: I do, but it’s in the shop right now getting modified: a new bike rack for the top, new exhaust, new 22-inch SRT Viper wheels. And it’s lifted; I mean, you can’t get more attention in a town like Weissach, where every other car is a GT3 or a turbo, than with a big yellow truck. My wife loves it! She’s not into cars, but she loves it dearly because it’s so different.
C/D: Clearly your passion for performance is wide-ranging.
AP: I’m a freak for dirt bikes—I have a couple of KTMs—and I need the truck to transport them to tracks or deserted farmland. I watch these videos of guys dirt biking in America and people shooting [firearms], and, well, there are so many incentives to come to America.
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