The efficiency of any vehicle depends on its aerodynamic performance. And this is even more important in the case of electric cars, in which consumption is a fundamental aspect, on some occasions. more important than performance. Manufacturers are therefore busy finding solutions that allow a perfect symbiosis between form and function. Porsche is one of them and now it presents an amazing solution that it is shaping in association with the University of Stuttgart.
Porsche is developing a complete electrification plan for its entire range. In the coming years, “zero emission” variants of its current vehicles will arrive, among which is a new Cayenne, the Macan, a 718 (both Boxster and Cayman), the most luxurious electric Panamera and an electric SUV positioned as the technological showcase of the company. Additionally, the other plans will be confirmed later, such as the long-awaited electric 911, of which a large part of its possible specifications are unknown.
For a brand that manufactures high quality cars and from which very high performance is expected, efficiency is a concept that takes on crucial importance. If with fossil fuels the large consumptions are compensated with larger gasoline deposits, when propelled with electricity, a larger battery works against performance. That is why Porsche is forced to deploy technologies that are related to efficiency and low consumption.
It is precisely the collaboration with the German University of Stuttgart that has led the manufacturer to the origin of a finding that could increase aerodynamic efficiency. Porsche is studying the possibility of vibrate the car to improve its aerodynamic footprint. According to Andreas Wagner, director of the university’s automotive engineering program, the teams plan to modulate aerodynamic drag. emitting pulses of air pressureand.
From an engineering point of view, the theory does not seem unreasonable: “It is possible to vary the value of the aerodynamic coefficient (Cd) of a car at certain points of the body by systematically introducing vibrations. If you introduce a defined pulse into the flow around the car via loudspeakers, you can influence its behavior,” explains Wagner.
However, implementing this solution to make it real and practical in the brand’s electric cars presents a series of challenges because the number of speakers should be multiplied around the entire body. The engineers will have to find a way not to disturb the air flows so as not to generate audible noise pollution from the cabin.
For now, Porsche’s approach is an experimental technology that would not see the light of an imminent way in the brand’s production cars. For now, what Porsche has implemented is an electronic whistle that can be heard inside the cabin. As the speed increases or decreases, the note changes pitch or, in some cases, changes volume.
Making vehicles vibrate is not an exclusive idea of Porsche. A few months ago it was Hyundai that presented a patent proposing that electric cars have a vibration system so that the sensations transmitted to the occupants resemble those of a combustion engine.
