The car manufacturer Porsche is speeding up electrification, even the 911 is getting a hybrid drive. An extension of the service life is planned for the Macan and Cayenne, but an electric Panamera is on the brink.
No car manufacturer understands as well as Porsche how to exploit the possibilities of individualization so skilfully and to cover a series with so many variants that even insiders have difficulty listing them all. The 911 portfolio now consists of 25 derivatives and special models. Record. It doesn’t stop there.
The number 26 is getting ready to start, the Dakar. The off-road sports car, which costs more than 220,000 euros, is probably the most unusual production Porsche in its conception. You could even do a tour across Africa with it without the tires ever having to touch asphalt. Porsche limited production to 2500 units. It’s almost sold out.
The 911 ST is literally doing its final rounds of voting as number 27 on the Italian high-speed circuit in Nardo. It is also scheduled to go into customer hands this year and inherits the 911 R from the previous 991 series. The abbreviation ST comes from the 1970s, when there was a 911 S and a slimmed-down T version. Today it is one of the most sought-after collector’s items. The developers once again planted the naturally aspirated six-cylinder from the GT3 RS in the 911 ST, boosted from 500 to 525 hp.
The naturally aspirated characteristics that fans love will not last long. The emission standard Euro 7 forces adjustments. It can be heard that the RS versions from 2024 will also be forced ventilation by means of a turbocharger. However, the high-speed concept remains.
Porsche always emphasizes that the 911 will be the brand’s last model to run on electricity. On the way there, the sports car icon will at least be partially electrified next year – also due to Euro 7. The engineers were able to create space for an e-module in the transmission. It is primarily used as a booster; the 911 hybrid can only roll electrically for a very short distance at low speed (manoeuvring, stopping
Even with the entry-level 718 series – which includes the Boxster and Cayman – something is happening in 2023. Like the Cayman as the GT4 RS, the Boxster will also be available in the high-performance 718 Spyder RS ??version. In the middle of the decade, Porsche will present both body variants, Spyder and Coupé, in a new generation and then with a purely electric drive. The layout still provides for a mid-engine design. Improved cell chemistry in the 800-volt high-voltage battery and consistent lightweight construction and efficiency optimization should ensure a customer-acceptable range.
The electric Macan is coming onto the market with a delay. 2023 was originally planned. Due to software problems, it will now be 2024. The new Macan is based on the 800-volt PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture developed together with Audi and rolls off the assembly line in Leipzig. Porsche expects a volume of around 80,000 units per year, as many as the combustion Macan. This will continue to run in parallel, but will only be offered in Europe until Euro 7 no longer allows sales. The Macan can still be bought outside of Europe.
The Cayenne and Cayenne Coupé, which are undergoing a revision this spring that goes far beyond the scope of a normal facelift, should follow the same pattern (production time extension). The PA (product upgrade) – Porsche speaks of a new generation – includes design, cockpit and drives (hybridization). Production remains in Bratislava. The all-electric Cayenne (based on PPE) is expected to be available after 2025.
Above the Cayenne-E, Porsche then positioned the much-mentioned K1 (development abbreviation) as a high-end SUV (originally Porsche) around 2026, primarily intended for China and North America. Both countries will receive it in a seven-seat configuration. Technically, the new electric platform SSP (Scalable Systems Platform) is underneath the K1.
The electric Panamera could fall by the wayside in Porsche’s product strategy. A new generation (G3) of the sports sedan will appear in 2024, fully electrified and made future-proof in terms of emissions. But between the Cayenne-E, the K1 and the next Taycan generation (J2), it should be pretty tight for another Stromer in this segment.
