Printing kilowatts

Porsche’s 3D-printed pistons unlock 22kW from a 911 GT2 RS engine

- LOUIS CORDONY

NEW LIGHTWEIGHT 3D-PRINTED pistons created in Porsche’s Advanced Engineering lab have squeezed as much as 22kW from a 911 GT2 RS engine in testing.

Given Porsche has ended 911 GT2 RS production, the study was used to reveal what 3D printed “additive manufacturing” can achieve when applied to high-stress components like an engine’s piston.

Ultimately they have allowed engineers to increase engine speed, lower temperature load and optimise combustion, enabling the GT2 RS’s 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat six to increase power from 515kW to 537kW on an engine dyno. Porsche says the pistons also completed 200 hours of endurance running with “many high and top speed elements”.