You Might Know Why Porsche Is Investing In Carbon Fiber Before 2020

Photo: Darel Parker

All the world is aflutter right now over the 911 GT3 RS, but you know what? It’s a butterfly car. Unless you live in Pacific Grove, California, that’s probably not going to be your car. In Pacific Grove, naturally-aspirated $175,000 racecars fit right in with the Monterey car week and Laguna Seca raceway. If that’s your bag, then by all means google the GT3 RS until your arm won’t move anymore.

Just for reference, the 911 GT3 RS

What we thought was more interesting, was Porsche’s 25 percent purchase stake in Capricorn Composite GmbH. As that tell-tale four-letter word indicates, this is a German company. Specifically, this is a company that specializes in carbon fiber production and other components, many of which found their way into the 918 Spyder.

Carbon fiber has long been a fancy add-on for looks’ sake. But as we roll into 2020’s governmental deadlines for fuel consumption, this material’s light weight and similarity to steel’s tensile strength will make it a major asset in the construction of cars.

Put simply, carbon fiber is lighter than steel and just as strong. With increasing government pressure to reduce carbon emissions, entire frames or body panels could be made of carbon fiber instead of steel, thus keeping the car light without sacrificing safety.

Porsche already owns 10 percent in Capricorn’s main carbon fiber competitor, SGL Carbon SE. It appears that Porsche wanted to increase its ownership stake there, but was blocked by other investors in SGL, namely a rag-tag scooter outfit called BMW and private parties with ties to BMW. Porsche therefore had to get a bit creative and come up with another supplier.

Astute readers will remember that Porsche’s most recent investment was in September 2014 when it bought 10 percent of traffic data cruncher Inrix, located in Seattle. Hardware and software are thus necessary to future product developments.

If you prefer steel cars without a bunch of fancy tech, you can get a base level Porsche such as the Cayman today. The lack of options might actually make it a rarity 10 years from now.