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Porsche hybrids come up short at Le Mans

Two cars, one finish, zero victories. That's a brief synopsis of Porsche's hybrid-vehicle performance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. There's always next year. Porsche entered two 919 Hybrid vehicles in the race. The No. 14 car essentially limped to the finish line after encountering drivetrain problems. The other Porsche hybrid, No. 20, was driven by Germany's Timo Bernhard, New Zealand's Brendon Hartley and Australia's Mark Webber. That car ran for more than 22 hours before its own powertrain issues did that racing team in for good. Both vehicles ran towards the front of the pack at times during the race, and the No. 20 car actually led the race after about 20 hours. Still, both teams said they were disappointed in the results. Porsche sister company Audi came up big for the 13th time in the race's long and storied history. One Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro won the race, while another finished second. The Toyota that had pole-position and was winning much of the race shut down after 15 hours of racing because of electrical issues and Nissan had trouble with is ZEOD RC. Check out Porsche's press release below, and read here for a more general race recap. STRONG PERFORMANCE BY PORSCHE 919 HYBRIDS BUT NO DREAM ENDING IN PROTOTYPE RETURN TO LE MANS Le Mans. After a strong performance by both Porsche 919 Hybrids, the Porsche Team was left empty-handed after a dramatic final stage of the race. Following more than 22 hours, car No. 20 driven by Timo Bernhard (Germany), Brendon Hartley (New Zealand) and Mark Webber (Australia) suffered a powertrain problem at the world's most famous endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Earlier in the race the LMP1 class car was leading overall for a significant period of time. The second innovative and highly complex prototype – in the hands of Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Marc Lieb (Germany) – likewise proved to be very competitive, but was hampered by a drivetrain problem. However, their No. 14 car crossed the finish line under its own power. After a thrilling start to the race with changing weather conditions, numerous accidents and a relatively calm night, Bernhard took the overall lead in the No. 20. The longtime Porsche factory driver returned to the top spot after 20 of the 24 hours. At 12:36 (CET) on Sunday, he handed the leading car over to Webber. Less than 20 minutes later the Australian was forced to slow down and drove solely on electric power back to pit lane.

EPA discovers defeat device in more VW TDI engines

In a sternly worded letter, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has issued a new set of allegations against Volkswagen claiming that so-called emissions defeat software has been found in the company's 3.0-liter TDI V6 diesel engines. This is a completely different engine than the 2.0 TDI that has already been identified as an emissions cheater. In addition to VW, the EPA has included Audi and Porsche in this notification, as the non-compliant engine has been used in vehicles from all three manufacturers from model years 2014 through 2016. The EPA claims that cars equipped with the 3.0 TDI engine know when they are being tested for emissions, and their on-board computers switch into a mode designed to pass the stringent requirements in the United States for diesel exhaust. Vehicles sold in the United States with this engine include the 2014 VW Touareg, 2015 Porsche Cayenne, and 2016 Audi A6, A7, A8L and Q5. The EPA says there are 10,000 vehicles currently on the road with this second defeat device, along with an unknown number of 2016 models either on dealer lots or in the driveways of consumers. According to the EPA, VW's 3.0-liter TDI, like the 2.0 TDI that was found to circumvent US regulations, has code in its computer specifically written to intentionally put the vehicle's engine into a mode that allows it to meet exhaust requirements. When the vehicle is unhooked from testing equipment, it will go back into a mode that emits nine-times higher nitrogen oxide emissions than is allowable under US law. "VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans," said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office for EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "All companies should be playing by the same rules. EPA, with our state, and federal partners, will continue to investigate these serious matters, to secure the benefits of the Clean Air Act, ensure a level playing field for responsible businesses, and to ensure consumers get the environmental performance they expect." Richard Corey, Executive Officer of the California Air Resources Board, said in a statement, "Today we are requiring VW Group to address these issues. This is a very serious public health matter. ARB and EPA will continue to conduct a rigorous investigation that includes testing more vehicles until all of the facts are out in the open." This story will be updated as new information becomes available.

2017 Porsche Panamera: Technical details of the world's fastest luxury sedan

In anticipation of our upcoming first drive of the new Porsche Panamera, here's an in-depth look at Stuttgart's new sedan. We already know what it looks like, but now we have details on the powertrain, chassis, and electronics. Let's jump right in. Engines, Transmission, Platform The big news is the all-new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 in the Panamera Turbo. It adopts a "hot vee" layout with the turbochargers in the engine's valley. This setup allows for a short run from the exhaust manifold for minimal lag, which is further reduced by the twin-scroll turbos. With 18.8 psi of peak boost, the new V8 pumps out 550 horsepower and 567 pound-feet of torque. As we mentioned, that's just 20 hp behind the outgoing Turbo S. And the Panamera Turbo is quick - good for 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds with the Sport Chrono pack. Yes, launch control looks awesome. This is also the first Porsche engine to adopt cylinder deactivation - in four-cylinder mode the engine can run up to 3,500 rpm with as much as 123 horsepower. To shut down four cylinders at a time, the camshaft on each bank slides to engage a dummy lobe on cylinders two, three, five, and eight. When running in V4 mode, the valves stay closed on the shut-down cylinders. Another nod to emissions and efficiency is a catalytic converter mounted close up near the vee, right behind the turbos. All that heat requires airflow, so there's a dedicated duct from the radiator that routes fresh air over the turbos and catalytic converter. There's an all-new twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 as well, made with the same 90-degree angle as the V8 because it's based on modular architecture. The V6 lacks cylinder deactivation but keeps the hot vee and adds two-stage variable lift on the intake valve. It is not lacking for power, with 440 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque. Both engines (and the European-market twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 diesel) mate up to a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic made by ZF. The new design is 5.6 inches shorter than the seven-speed it replaces and allows for an upcoming hybrid powertrain to be integrated without adding any extra length. The top three gears are overdrive ratios, with the top speed from both engines coming in sixth. Along with leading the development of the new V8, the Panamera is also the first car on the new MSB platform. That's Modularer Standardantriebs-Baukasten for you AP German students; a near-literal translation is modular standard drive.