Porsche Carrera GT Drives Off With Engineering Excellence Award

[McLareN]

Text & photos courtesy Porsche Car NA

Automotive Division of the Society of Plastic Engineers recognizes Porsche's super sports car for breakthrough use of new materials
Its carbon fiber engine frame and ceramic matrix composite clutch plate, a world's first in a production car, earned the Porsche Carrera GT the new Engineering Excellence Award during the 34th Annual Innovation Awards Program of the Automotive Division of the Society of Plastic Engineers (SPE). Every year this program recognizes and communicates technical accomplishments in all phases of new automotive plastics and plastic-based composite applications.
Traditionally, the award winners are selected from the large number of entries in eight different vehicle-segment categories from body exterior through environmental to process technologies. This year, because of the bold application of new materials and the outstanding engineering expertise demonstrated in this genuine super sports car, the panel of blue-ribbon judges, comprised of automotive and plastic industry experts and analysts, awarded an Engineering Excellence Award for the first time. The carbon fiber monocoque and engine frame design, together with the Porsche Ceramic Composite Clutch, "Demonstrate the tremendous future that exists for the continued growth of plastics, not only in high performance cars, but throughout the entire automotive industry," noted the organizers during the award ceremony.

The Porsche Carrera GT is a limited-edition high performance sports car with the DNA of a racecar. An extremely low weight and over 600 hp from a V10- cylinder engine propel the car from 0 to 60 mph in well under four seconds and allow a track top speed of more than 200 mph. Only a total of 1,500 units will be built over a period of four years, with nearly half earmarked for the North American market. In the U.S. the Carrera GT has an MSRP of $440,000 plus destination charge.

These are some rather good news for Porsche

[Sweeney921]

three cheers for porsche!

[derekthetree]

hip hip hooray
well done porsche

[Cotterik]

porsche more than deserve that, IMO they are one of if not THE best automotive engineers in the world.

[Matra et Alpine]

thought - wa-hay, Porsche gets an engineering award for the CGT, great and THEN read that it's for 2 poxy pieces of plastic stuck deep in the engine bay - pfffff

[tmnt_ppn]

oh my... what a news... congrats!

[spi-ti-tout]

Cant wait to see which porsche will be next...

[my porsche]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

thought - wa-hay, Porsche gets an engineering award for the CGT, great and THEN read that it's for 2 poxy pieces of plastic stuck deep in the engine bay - pfffff

i think your just beiiter because an alpine never won it...



WAY TO GO PORSCHE!!!! coTTerik, they arent one of the best designers, they ARE THE BEST!

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by my porsche

i think your just beiiter because an alpine never won it...

The Alpine factory is a poor relation in the huge Renault empire, sadly

BUT, France had Matra and Alpine and UK had Lotus doing things with plastics while Porsche were still trying to get the 911 to handle

I find all these awards for minor things to be quite irritating now.
I mean a clutch is just a brake used differently. We've had composite brakes for donkeys. It wasn't a huge leap in design to apply it to a clutch.

Also I find these "first time in a production car" rather vacuous awards too.
I mean "so what!".
Give the kudos to the design team who came up with the idea and built it for the first time.
Everything after that is just price reduction

Oops, now I'll have the Porsche fans AND the 'vette fans competing to see who lynches me first

[Egg Nog]

The frame is really nothing revolutionary.

However, I must say, that is one hell of a clutch. That thing is tiny! It's not really the fact that they used composite materials that impressed me, but rather how small and light they were make it though the use of such things. For the amount of torque that it takes, it's really very impressive.

[my porsche]

thats why all the magazine people stall it

[spi-ti-tout]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

The Alpine factory is a poor relation in the huge Renault empire, sadly

BUT, France had Matra and Alpine and UK had Lotus doing things with plastics while Porsche were still trying to get the 911 to handle

I find all these awards for minor things to be quite irritating now.
I mean a clutch is just a brake used differently. We've had composite brakes for donkeys. It wasn't a huge leap in design to apply it to a clutch.

Also I find these "first time in a production car" rather vacuous awards too.
I mean "so what!".
Give the kudos to the design team who came up with the idea and built it for the first time.
Everything after that is just price reduction

Oops, now I'll have the Porsche fans AND the 'vette fans competing to see who lynches me first

Don't worry we have people here to defend you...

[cuntukimushroom]

YES! one for the porsches, just 457435167 away from ferrari

[spi-ti-tout]

Originally Posted by cuntukimushroom

YES! one for the porsches, just 457435167 away from ferrari

Mark my words, Porsche isn't going to get the next one...

[RacingManiac]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

The Alpine factory is a poor relation in the huge Renault empire, sadly

BUT, France had Matra and Alpine and UK had Lotus doing things with plastics while Porsche were still trying to get the 911 to handle

I find all these awards for minor things to be quite irritating now.
I mean a clutch is just a brake used differently. We've had composite brakes for donkeys. It wasn't a huge leap in design to apply it to a clutch.

Also I find these "first time in a production car" rather vacuous awards too.
I mean "so what!".
Give the kudos to the design team who came up with the idea and built it for the first time.
Everything after that is just price reduction

Oops, now I'll have the Porsche fans AND the 'vette fans competing to see who lynches me first

The manufacturing process of the clutch and the brakes are quite different though. The clutch discs are actually cut off a sheet of the material on a mill while the disc is actually baked into that shape. I'd imagine the property being quite different.

This award probably has Carrera GT written all over it, being the first car to have a CFRP subframe for the engine cradle and all. I mean if you are going to have a CFRP monocoque but can't stress the engine for road compliance requirement, why not make the engine subframe out of the same thing as well....