Porsche Panamera crosses Patagonia powered by the wind
Porsche has harnessed the wind at the southernmost tip of the Americas to provide power for race and road cars of the future.
The pioneering project at Haru Oni near the southern end of the Pan-American Highway uses electric energy from wind turbines to convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen into sustainable, carbon neutral “e-fuel”.
It’s a straight swap for oil-based petrol, but, according to Porsche, is climate-friendly as the carbon dioxide that’s emitted during combustion was previously captured from the atmosphere.
Porsche recently put the fuel to the test in a Panamera Turbo SE-Hybrid on a journey across the stunning Torres del Paine National Park and the vast Patagonian plains that Charles Darwin described as “boundless, for they are scarcely practicable, and hence unknown. They bear the stamp of having thus lasted for ages, and there appears no limit to their duration through future time.”
For Porsche e-fuels are vital part of securing the future of driving. “This project is a building block for the future,” says Tatiana Alegre, General Manager of the operating company HIF Chile (Highly Innovative Fuels). “What we basically do is use the wind to transform water into eFuels. Haru Oni means ‘Land of the Wind,’ and we are here because the wind blows strongly most of the year.”
“Magallanes has always been the land of explorers,” says Alegre. “We’re exploring scientific frontiers. For me, Haru Oni is one of the new technological wonders with which we hope to help change the world.”
It’s 50 years since Porsche unveiled its first Turbo and to celebrate the German sports car maker let several examples loose on Romania’s Transfagarasan Highway.