The 2022 Cayman GT4 RS has made its first public appearance in Europe, but unlike a regular Porsche, these cars were burning ‘clean’ fuel.
Instead of high-octane petrol, the high-performance Caymans were powered by a synthetic fuel produced from food waste products.
Porsche has said it is fully behind ‘green fuels’ that are produced in a CO₂ neutral environment to contribute to the world’s overall reduction in emissions.
The Porsche team that are behind the Cayman GT4 RS and its sustainable fuel
Porsche believes that green fuels should work in harmony with electric vehicles for a better future and has green lit production of an eFuel factory in support of this.
How do eFuels work and how are they produced?
The production of efuels uses electricity made from wind farms that are completely renewable and not made from coal or gas. Water is extracted and then broken down into hydrogen and oxygen.
The hydrogen is then used, along with CO₂, to create e-methanol. The next process is called the methanol-to-gasoline synthesis process, in which methanol is turned into a synthetic raw gasoline, which is then turned into a standard gasoline fuel that can be used in all engine types.
Porsche engineers had the tough job of drifting the new Cayman GT4 RS in the snow
It sounds relatively simple, but it is a complex process and also costly.
Porsche is part of a joint project along with Siemens Energy to create these synthetic fuels.
Porsche couldn’t have picked a better a spot for the Cayman GT4 RS launch
The very first production facility will be located in southern Chile and will run off wind energy. From 2022, the plant is expected to produce 130,000 litres of eFuel per year.
“It’s a great hope of mine that in the future I will be able to drive old cars without a bad conscience because I am running them on eFuels,” said famous rally legend and long-time Porsche collaborator Walter Röhrl. “Fuelling a 50-year-old car with eFuels – that’s pure sustainability.
