CNBC Business | green machines?

green machines?

It could have hobbled them, but impending EU emissions rules have  inspired Porsche and Lamborghini to go faster then ever, finds Ben Oliver

There are, doubtless, many things for which we should be grateful to the European Union, but until now you wouldn’t have put ‘better supercars’ towards the top of the list. But we have just driven the new models from two of Europe’s most storied sports car makers. Both have been made considerably greener, partly in response to the EU’s impending cap on carbon dioxide outputs. And both are simply sensational to drive. 

Firms like Porsche and Lamborghini have absolutely no hope of hitting the EU’s carbon dioxide cap of 130g per kilometre– averaged across a carmaker’s range – by 2012, when some of their current models emit three times that. A legal workaround seems likely: without one they will go to the wall. The current ‘greening’ of the supercar is partly an attempt to show willing to the EU in order to secure a better deal on emissions. High fuel prices are also a factor, although buyers of these cars are less concerned about running costs than most. The perceptions of others are at least as important – being viewed as an excessive polluter or consumer of scant resources is more likely to deter those otherwise able to afford these cars than the high price of petrol, so sports car makers are on a mission to prove to both regulators and the general public that mean can also be (relatively) green. And there are simply good engineering reasons for doing this. Reduce weight to improve economy and emissions and you’ll also benefit handling and performance; improve economy and you improve range between fill-ups and make journeys quicker. 

Porsche’s new 911 might look similar to the old car externally, but its insides have been radically reworked. Even after 44 years of development, Porsche somehow manages to improve the 911 with every iteration, this latest one being highly significant. Its new engine uses direct injection to produce an extra 20PS, taking its output to 345PS. Equipped with Porsche’s new seven-speed PDK automated twin-clutch manual gearbox it will reach 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds – this is a very fast car. But despite its power and pace it emits just 225g CO2/km and averages 29mpg or 9.7l/100km, figures you’d usually associate with a saloon car with a small six-cylinder engine. The new 911 sets the environmental standard for every other sports car. 

And it seems like nothing has been sacrificed for those figures. The new engine is magnificent, with instant throttle response, huge thrust and a rich, deafening blare of the exhaust at high revs. The new gearbox is just as impressive, swapping cogs instantly and seamlessly. Porsche’s one foul-up seems to have been mounting gear-change buttons on the steering wheel, rather than having paddles behind the wheel, as favoured by most other makers. With the wheel turned the buttons can be difficult to locate. Almost universally criticised, the system is likely to be changed. 

There have been a few minor changes to the chassis but the 911 DNA remains intact, with responsive, informative steering and deft, agile handling with just enough of the old, rear-engined scariness remaining to keep you on your toes. Porsche offers an impressive range of options for the serious driver, including F1-style ceramic brakes, a limited-slip differential to keep traction through bends, and sports suspension. It’s easy to send the cost of your car spiralling for the stratosphere but almost all are worth having and you’ll get a virtually bespoke machine that suits your style of driving.  

The new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 boasts an equally improved set of performance and power figures. By comparison with the old model, power is up 40PS to 560PS, the 0-100km/h time has dropped from 3.9 seconds to 3.7 seconds and the top speed has crept above the milestone 200mph for the first time at 202mph, or 325km/h. Weight is down by 20kgs and the tyres have been optimised for lower rolling resistance, but most importantly the mighty 5.2-litre V10 engine has been given the same direct-injection system as the Porsche, and the environmental benefit is just as astonishing, with carbon dioxide emissions falling from 400g/km to 327g/km. Lamborghini claims that there’s more to come, and is aiming for a total reduction of 40% over the next few years. 

Not only is this the cleanest Lamborghini yet, it’s also the best, and by some margin. The Porsche is a sports car, but this is a supercar, and it delivers everything a supercar should. Plainly, it looks exciting, with its dramatic, angular, mid-engined proportions, and we’d certainly have ours in white with the matt black wheels. But more importantly it is sensationally exciting to drive, a simple, naked, visceral thrill. The exhausts emit less gas but more noise, a hard, loud, metallic howl. The paddle-shift gearbox changes hard and fast but the precise, faithful handling and four wheel-drive keeps it all under control and flatters your abilities a little. 

The only real criticism is the brakes, which work well but require a firm shove to do so and neglect to tell you much about what they’re doing. 

We need to be honest here. These cars might both be substantially cleaner, but neither is an eco-hero in any way: the Lamborghini still emits three times as much carbon dioxide per kilometre as some super-minis. However, they’ll cover much lower mileages than most cars, are far less likely to be scrapped, and are built in such small numbers as to make little difference to climate change.  

But few really want or expect a sports or supercar to be neutered for the green cause. They just need to make – and be seen to make – a serious, substantial improvement, and these two certainly manage that. Thank you, EU.  

Porsche 911 

Price: from €79,000 

Engine: 3.6 litre flat six 

Power: 345PS 

Top speed: 288km/h 

0-100km/h: 4.5sec 

CO2: 225g/km 

Economy: 9.7l/100km 

We like: economy, emissions, performance, handling, gearbox 

We don’t like: gear-change buttons 

Verdict: Once again, Porsche’s venerable 911 re-defines the sports car

Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 