Porsche's 1st, 2-seat Electric Sports Car

 Defining the Future of Sports Cars - Porsche 718E

                                        Source:  Porsche

Porsche's Growing Electric Lineup

Porsche just announced that it will launch the Porsche 718E, all-electric sports car in 2025. The e-sports car will be available in Germany in late 2023. It will be sold exclusively as an electric vehicle.  In fact, the next generation of the 718 Boxster/Cayman will be electric only.  Porsche is a wholly owned subsidiary of VW.  And the 718E will be Porsche's first car produced on the VW PPE (Premium Platform Electric) that is being developed with Audi.  Porsche says that it is developing the 718E and its core electric technologies to "shape the future of sports cars" that are totally electric powered with zero emissions to the environment but operate with the power and fun of a regular sports car.

Porsche's Electric Future

Porsche's electric-carbon neutral plans are ambitious.  Porsche is working to have its entire value chain, including suppliers, carbon neutral by 2030.  It also wants 80% of its new car lineup to be electric.  By 2025, Porsche expects that 50% of its new car sales will be electric and hybrid electric models.  Porsche Chairman Oliver Blume says the Porsche 718E will be the company's first 2-seat, electric Porsche. And he expects it to be a big sales performer in the Porsche's future electric vehicle lineup.

What We Know So Far About the 718E

The 718E will have an all-electric powertrain with the battery sitting between the axles.  There likely will be two electric motors, an 800-volt system, RWD or 4-wheel drive and a "special configuration", according to Blume.  He calls it a mid-engine sports car EV.  Add to this, Porsche believes that they are building the most powerful battery cells in the world that will be used in the 718E.  The battery cells are called Li-ion battery cells and they use silicon as the anode component.  The battery is designed to offer the same energy density as current lithium-ion batteries but in a much smaller battery size.  The new silicon chemistry mix cuts the battery's internal resistance resulting in optimal performance, greater efficiency and much faster charging times than current lithium-ion batteries.  Furthermore, the battery is sustainable.  Blume says with this battery: "this is how we shape the future of sports cars."

Porsche's Road to Electrification

Porsche is operating off of a year of strong profits and it is investing a great deal into electrification.  The company plans on building a proprietary network of EV charging stations with lounges for customers. The system will first be built in Germany.  It also just announced that it plans to make the next generation of Porsche 911's non-plug-in hybrids. The Porsche 718E is Porsche's third EV, following the Taycan and the Macan EVs. Porsche has found great success with its first ever EV, the Taycan sedan.  In 2021, sales of the vehicle doubled to 41,300.