Porsche is giving its drivers the opportunity to create their very own evidence of misbehavior by expanding its track app—which records lap times, videos, and other data—to work on public roads.
The service, known as the Porsche Track Precision App (PTPA), was first available on closed circuits but it can record data pretty much anywhere now. It uses ECU information and connects to the Porsche Communication Management system via WiFi to read vehicle position, velocity, engine speed, braking force, steering angle, longitudinal and lateral acceleration, and other telemetry data relevant to driving.
The new mode is called Free Drive and it works a little differently than PTPA does on track. Although you can turn it on manually, it also tracks your driving to turn on automatically. Using clues like high G-forces, high brake pressure, or strong acceleration, it can record up to one minute (30 seconds before and after the event that caused it to turn on) of video footage.
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Porsche says that this is done to give drivers memories of exciting driving moments that happen on the road. It combines video clips and photos from your drive and sends them to your smartphone to help you relive the more exciting aspects of your drive. The app will not record lap times, though, presumably so that it isn’t seen to be encouraging owners to speed.
Free Drive mode also uses functionalities from the Off-road Precision app and displays information through Apple CarPlay. Porsche has also added more educational material to the app, such as briefings for race tracks with brake point suggestions and in-depth explanations of driving dynamics.
“On the race track, it’s all about lap times and direct competition,” said Jörg Bergmeister, a Porsche brand ambassador. “Here on the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse, I can just enjoy the drive without any pressure at all. With the new Free Drive function, spectacular moments are automatically recorded. Later on, I can simply pull up the documented drives in the app and revisit those moments.”
The PTPA app is available for Apple iOS (iOS 14 and up) and the Android operating system (Android 8 and up). It can be downloaded through those systems’ app stores.