Porsche commits to petrol-powered sports cars for at least another decade
German sports-car maker Porsche says petrol power is here to stay – and is still investing in high-performance engines – for at least another decade while it continues to expand its electric vehicle range.
Echoing the sentiments of Japanese car giant Toyota – the world’s biggest automaker – Porsche says the goal of the car industry should be to reduce emissions with a range of technology, rather than be tied to only one type of propulsion such as electric power.
To that end, Porsche is working full speed ahead with energy partners on synthetic fuels – alongside its record investment in future electric vehicles.
Porsche says while it has been astounded by the market response to its first electric car – the Taycan (pictured below) – it recognises there is still strong demand for petrol-powered sports cars.
Sports cars are also the most challenging for engineers to deliver strong performance and long driving range in a lightweight package.
The vice president of Porsche 911 and 718 (Boxster and Cayman) model lines, Dr Frank-Steffan Walliser, told Drive: “Our strategy is to stay flexible. We are very committed to electric in one channel, and (petrol engines) in another.”
“We believe there is still a strong demand for petrol-powered sports cars,” said Dr Walliser.
“Looking at our sales figures, we are more than happy with the (electric) Taycan, the response of the market, and that it is accepted as a Porsche.
“We have a bold strategy for electric cars and we are making bold steps, big steps with electrification,” said Dr Walliser. “But we also must look at the market and customer needs.
The Porsche executive said sports cars (such as the flagship Porsche 911 pictured above) face different challenges when it comes to electrification.
“Coming to a sports car, I would say it’s way more difficult to make a proper sports car in, for example, the 911 range in electric. I do not see it for the moment, the technology is not yet there.
“Weight is the enemy, space is the enemy, everything around that is the enemy. If we can solve that equation, maybe (an electric 911) is possible one day. But not for the moment.”
While Porsche has already foreshadowed there will be purely electric versions of the Porsche Cayman and Boxster “one day”, the company said it has not yet given up on petrol power.
“In addition to electric, we also invest in future cars based on petrol engines, we are not walking away,” said Dr Walliser. “We are investing. We are working on (eco-fuel) engines. We are looking at all options.”
The Porsche executive said the main priority of the auto industry should be to reduce emissions while still giving customers a choice of what powers their vehicles.
Dr Walliser said the take-up of electric cars was happening at different speeds in different countries.
“Electrification is one option, but there will be different solutions for different parts of the world,” he said.
Speaking at the media preview drive of the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS, the Porsche executive said: “For Cayman, the road will be one day electric (but) we want to tell the story of the Cayman to the end, to the last chapter.
“We still have ideas, we are not running out of ideas (for high-performance versions of the current Boxster and Cayman range).
“Looking at the market the response (to Boxster and Cayman) it is still great and still growing. It’s not our latest platform, but meanwhile the car is … still highly attractive.”
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