Looks like someone is trying to be different. With seemingly every car manufacturer out there making some sort of hybrid, or announcing plans to offer one in the near future, Porsche is bucking the trend. Ferrari has a hybrid version of their 599 coming out at Geneva this March, but Porsche has said no way to making any sort of hybrid sportscar.
Who says Porsche won’t be doing hybrids? Porsche CEO Michael Macht, that’s who. Or at least Porsche will not build hybrid versions of the 911 and Boxster. Yes, Porsche will make a hybrid Cayenne, most likely using the hybrid drivetrain form corporate siblings VW and Audis hybrid SUVs (that would be the Touareg and Q7) but they have no interest in altering their sportscar lineup.
“It’s technically possible but it’s not part of the plan. It also adds weight. We want brake regeneration and stop-start for our sports cars, but not hybrid. They’re not driven in the city, where you get most of the advantages [of a hybrid],” Porsche CEO Michael Macht related.
Macht went on to say that “There are some efforts to make a pure electric supercar, but if Porsche is going to do that it must have the same performance and the same range as now. We want to make cars you can drive every day.” Macht also added that Porsche doesn’t think the performance and safety of lithium ion batteries is yet good enough to use in an electric car or a hybrid. Which makes no sense. Apart from range, electrics are great performers. And what safety issues with lithium ion batteries?
Sources say that counter to all that Porsche is considering a fully-electric version of the 911, but that sounds counterintuitive to me. If they are this dead set against it, then it probably won’t happen.
Also, look at this from a pragmatic standpoint.
Porsche just got taken over by Volkswagen, and it has been clear for a while that Porsche doesn’t really have the cash to throw around at development projects like making an EV or hybrid sportscar. Further, Audi has already staked out that ground with their upcoming eTron.
So no, Porsche probably won’t be making anything like a performance EV or hybrid any time soon, and if they will, it will most likely be at the behest of corporate parent VW saying they should make a Porsche version of the eTron.
And boy, wouldn’t THAT stick in their craw.
Source: Gas 2.0
