The Electric Porsche Boxster at Michelin Challenge Bibendum
Porsche has been showcasing a trio of electric Porsche Boxsters at Michelin Challenge Bibendum, a RWD with 120bhp and a 4WD with 240bhp.
We ran a story about the Electric Porsche Boxster back in February, but there really wasn’t a whole heap of information to impart.
But now, after Porsche showcased the electric Boxster at Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin, there is a little more flesh to put on the bones of that story.
We’d assumed – because there was no reason to assume otherwise – that the three Electric Boxsters Porsche has running around would be all rear wheel-drive, just like the ICE Boxster. In fact, two are RWD but one is four wheel-drive with an electric motor at each end.
Even then we’re not talking earth-shattering performance. The two electric motors manage to deliver 240bhp and 398lb/ft of torque between them, which translates in to a 5.5 second o-62mph and a top speed limited to 124mph to save the batteries.
As you’ve probably already guessed the RWD Boxster gets just the one motor, and unfortunately it’s the same motor the back axle on the 4WD version gets. That means just 120bhp and around 10 seconds to 62mph.
All three prototypes (if that is what they are) get a 29kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery which goes where the engine normally would.
Porsche say it gives a range of 107 miles whether in the RWD or 4WD version. Which rather proves the point that all these range estimates are from the school of guesswork and based on computer simulations of ‘perfect’ situations.
How on earth – in anything resembling a real-world scenario – can a 240bhp Boxster use exactly the same amount of juice as a 120bhp one? Still, when it’s run out of juice it will take 9 hours to recharge – however you’ve driven.
As Porsche said in February, this is an ongoing experiment to see what they can achieve with an electric powerplant, and there won’t be an electric car brought to market by Porsche until it is the match of a proper ICE Porsche.
As we said then – it’ll be a while.
David says
I’d like to know what alternatives you are predicting will appear once the oil runs out……..and is there any manufacturer heading in that direction?
CarsUK says
Well, oil won’t run out any time soon. There are still huge and untapped resources which can be exploited including, but not limited to, huge shale oil deposits in many countries. Whilst oil was dirt cheap it was uneconomic to extract, but as oil becomes more expensive…
As far as BEVs (battery electric cars) and hybrids are concerned, they are at best an expensive stop-gap. Electric cars DO have a big future, but only if driven by a fuel cell generating the electricity. That means – ultimately – hydrogen fuel cell cars. Other options may be developed, but at the moment that is the only technology that will give us the same freedoms we enjoy with ICE cars without the increased costs and inconvenience of BEVs. It will also be relatively cheap to install hydrogen pumps in the existing petrol stations. Certainly cheaper – and far more practical – than shoving battery chargers in every parking bay in every major city.
And can you imagine the chaos that would ensue when you mix the usual weekend evening crowd of drunken rabble in most of our cities with endless bits of wire sticking out of recharging BEVs?
David says
At least Porsche are one of the manufacturers trying to put electric technology into existing cars – and no matter how much you moan about the lack of progress, somebody has to the experimenting, otherwise where will we be when the oil runs dry or becomes so expensive its only a billionaires luxury?
However, as an interested motor magazine, CARS UK needs to ask:
1. Is anybody bringing out lighter/more powerful batteries anytime soon?
2. Are domestic electricity suppliers going to be giving special rates to houses/businesses/hospitals etc where they need to charge the vehicles up over a long period of time?
3. Can we get a promise from the government that they won’t suddenly increase the price of electricity or batteries once the electric vehicle becomes more mainstream and not so much of a dream?
CarsUK says
We have no problem with Porsche experimenting at all. In fact it’s exactly what they should be doing. Our beef is with car makers churning out electric cars – subsidised by the taxpayer – that are in every way inferior to ICE cars, yet still cost twice as much.
To answer your questions:
1. The progress in battery technology is minimal. There are seemingly no real breakthroughs imminent. In fact, battery technology is not significantly better than it was 100 years ago.
2. They may; they’re a business and if it attracts custom of course it will be considered. A bit like ‘Economy 7’ for storage heaters. If you’re ancient enough to remember that! But…
3. If electric cars ever became mainstream (they won’t) then of course electricity would have to be taxed in the same way petrol/diesel is. Either that or increased income tax. And why would we put up with that just so we can drive a more expensive, inferior product? And the government will be forking out for massive recharging infrastructure and – we think – six new nuclear power stations if only half the cars in the UK ran on electricity. But it’ll never happen, or certainly not BEVs, anyway.