Electricity Won't Kill the Fun, Porsche Promises

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

Porsche threw a party at its museum on Thursday, marking and celebrating 70 years of sports cars. The first vehicle to bear the Porsche name was registered on June 8, 1948 – a 356 “No.1” Roadster. With it, Ferry Porsche’s dream of a sports car turned into a reality.

Mixed in with the event’s nostalgia was a look to the future, as CEO Oliver Blume outlined a three-pronged strategy to diversify its lineup. The three pillars? Plug-in hybrids, combustion-engined sports cars, and sporty electric vehicles.

“There will always be demand for intelligent sporty mobility,” Blume said. “At Porsche the driving experience will always be at the forefront, but in a traffic jam or when you park a car the driver might want to hand over control of the vehicle,” he said.

Hmm. Well, then.

Despite the inevitable inclusion of low-speed driving assists on future Porsches, at least it doesn’t seem like we have to worry about Porsche hoovering up mobility companies and starting every press conference with a reference to their nuclear-free bicycle-sharing system that includes a pair of peace sandals with every rental.

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Sportyaccordy Sportyaccordy on Jan 26, 2018

    I agree with Porsche. If anything, hybridization could help. I'd much rather have a Cayman with a hybridized flat 6 than the current sad arrangement. I go-kart with some semblance of regularity and recently drove an electric kart for the first time. I forgot about the method of propulsion after the first turn. Now granted, I also ride a motorcycle, and I would not want that to be fully electric... the exhaust note, even its awful flatulent parallel twin note, is an integral part of the experience. But I'd take some torque from a hybrid setup, and with as much engine braking as you do on a motorcycle, I bet my gas mileage would double lol. Point being, just as with every big technological change at Porsche, once the dust settles everything is still excellent. I cannot see this being any different.

    • FormerFF FormerFF on Jan 26, 2018

      Yeah, the electric karts are a lot of fun, nothing like having all the torque instantly available. Much better than having to wait for the engine to spool up after coming out of a slow turn. I drive a plug in hybrid and I can see that drive train having sporting possibilities, if tuned properly. Nearly all current EVs and hybrids are optimized for efficiency, not performance.

  • IBx1 IBx1 on Jan 26, 2018

    "intelligent sporty mobility" I want a dumb car with ABS and cruise control as the most, and only, automatic parts of it. I want a stick and an engine that sings when you let it breathe.

  • SunnyvaleCA SunnyvaleCA on Jan 26, 2018

    >>> Electricity Won’t Kill the Fun

  • Ricky Spanish Ricky Spanish on Jan 29, 2018

    I read in Panorama that Mission E is going to weigh over 4,000 lbs. What was that about not killing fun?

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