There is no need to complain about a lack of performance with the Porsche Taycan. The Turbo S version of the Zuffenhausen-based power electric vehicle fires over the asphalt with up to 560 kW / 761 hp. The electric Macan will no doubt romp around the corner with similar power. If you want to score points in all areas as a mobility service provider, it makes sense to also bring the power to the water. After all, the beautiful and the rich also want to stroll exclusively along the beach on the Côte d’Azur. Just on the water side. The Porsche idea of the e-speed boat is catchy, but the implementation is by no means. It starts with the hull of every water runabout. Every percentage point too much resistance costs speed and, in the case of an electric boat, also range. This is particularly important because charging stations are rarely found in the middle of a lake or in the sea. We assume a range of 25 nautical miles, i.e. around 46 kilometers.
The architecture comes from the brand new Premium Platform Electric (PPE), on which the E-Macan, which will appear in 2024, is also based. The central elements are a modern, permanently excited synchronous electric motor including power electronics and a battery with a capacity of 100 kilowatt hours, as used in the all-electric Macan. That should also reduce the Aqua range fear ad absurdum. There is enough power anyway. As with the Porsche BEVs, the 800-volt technology helps with fast charging.
When it comes to performance data, the Zuffenhausen-based carmaker is still covered. The e-speedboat will probably speed across the water with around 368 kW / 500 hp. The trigger will be pretty impressive anyway, since the Wasserstromer also has the torque ready from the first turn of the screw. Of course, a dive into the cool water is not entirely unprepared. With the Frauscher shipyard, Porsche gets an experienced partner on board. The Austrians have been building luxury boats since 1927 and electric yachts have also been part of the model portfolio since 1955. A good boat loses nothing of its fascination even with electric motors. That is why the Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air adopts the 8.67 meter long and 2.49 meter wide hull of the Frauscher 858 Fantom Air day cruiser almost unchanged. That is why the yacht is also suitable for rough water and therefore suitable for the sea.
A Porsche must always look different from other road users. This is no different on the water than on land. Cockpits are one of the core competencies of every car manufacturer. So the Swabians designed the control station including the steering wheel, the main console with throttle and integrated displays. The upholstered furniture in the lounge, in which the nine passengers should feel comfortable, also comes from Porsche. The noble water streamer, which will be launched next year, will not be cheap. There, too, there are few differences to the road models. If you take the Frauscher 858 Fantom Air as a basis, we calculate around 550,000 euros net. If you want such a speedboat, you should be fast. A maximum of 25 of the “First Edition” that will be released in 2024 will be built.
What Porsche is right, BMW is just cheap. The Munich-based company has teamed up with the boat builder Tyde, taking the powertrain of the BEV veteran BMW i3 and packing it into a watercraft called “The Icon”. Two 100 kW / 136 hp electric motors each provide propulsion. The energy comes from the 240 kWh, which is supplied with energy by an enlarged battery pack of the now discontinued BMW i3. Far more than a nautical means of transport, the boat is a casual glass panorama lounge that glides along on an elegant ship’s hull.
These are not just empty words: At higher speeds, the 13-meter-long electric yacht rises out of the water like a hydrofoil and glides along almost silently without any waves. The underwater wings (hydrofoils) reduce the energy requirement by up to 80 percent compared to a conventional fuselage. So the principles that ensure a streamlined appearance of the vehicle on land are also justified on the water. Therefore, the 240 kWh battery capacity is sufficient for 50 nautical miles / almost 100 kilometers, but also a cruising speed of 24 knots. The maximum speed of 30 knots / 55 km/h.
Similar to Porsche, BMW contributes its core competencies to The Icon on the bridge. Instead of familiar nautical instruments, the cockpit, with its 32-inch touchscreen with pin-sharp 6k resolution and iDrive, is reminiscent of one from a BMW car. To go with this, voice commands are used to call up functions such as range or weather reports. However, this list would not be complete without the third member of the premium group. Who could that be but AMG. In 2013, the Mercedes tuning company, together with Cigarette Racing, developed the SLS AMG Coupé Boat, which largely used the drive of the electro-dynamic sports car SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive and raced across the water at 160 km/h. More than a hundred years earlier, in 1894, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft had already advertised “several hundred of their Daimler motor boats, which are already in operation”, published in the humorous illustrated weekly “Flying Leaves”. This, however, still with diesel drive.
