As any car enthusiast nowadays will have noticed, green technologies for cars are all the rage with manufacturers and being brought up with gasoline-fed performance engines, we cast an uneasy eye on non-traditional methods of producing the power we crave from our rides. Luckily for us, bold engineers, notably German engineers, are not afraid of experimenting with new concepts, and thinking outside the box. Witness the success of Audi at Le Mans with its diesel engines and Porsche with its hybrid racer. We can now add to the list the engineers of Volkswagen, who entered a trio of Sciroccos in the 2011 edition of the Nurburgring 24 hour race, using CNG-powered engines for their race cars.
These engines are modified versions of the production 2-liter turbocharged TSI engine, which produce 330 hp from its CNG fuel. CNG is an excellent fuel because it has very high anti-knock qualities and in the blend used in the races cars, have the equivalent of 130 octane. Furthermore, natural gas vehicles emit 25% less CO2 emissions compared to conventional spark ignition engines, with almost zero particulates. For the racers themselves, Volkswagen claimed an 80% reduction. Transmitting the power on this front-wheel drive racer is a six-speed DSG transmission, actuated by steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Volkswagen also fitted one of the cars with an active electro-hydraulic differential.
Fruits of the hard work of VW’s engineers came in form of a class win for alternative powertrains and finishing 17th overall against a field dominated by the giants of racing, such as Porsche, Audi, and Ferrari. With these developments, gearheads need not worry about the future because with developments in low-emission and non-polluting technologies, racing diehards can have their cake and eat it too.
Source article is here.
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