Porsche would have loved to celebrate its 75th company anniversary last weekend by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But the three Porsche 963 hybrids, which started with great expectations, ultimately had no chance against the competition and so the Zuffenhausen-based company had to cede victory in the most prestigious long-distance race in the world to competitor Ferrari, and the next-placed manufacturers Toyota and Cadillac also ruined the supposed anniversary weekend for Porsche. But the anger will probably not last long, because Porsche is doing better than ever since its successful IPO last year. The figures read splendidly and even if the Porsche Taycan, as the brand’s first purely electric car with the imperceptibly refreshed logo, lags behind the original plans, everyone in Zuffenhausen and at the group headquarters in Wolfsburg is very satisfied with Ferdinand Porsche’s legacy.
Brand boss and Group CEO Oliver Blume has clearly set the direction for the coming years: Porsche will be electric and the brownish shimmering Mission X should not only show the glaring headlights of what is possible in the next few years. With a little suspicion, the Porsche team noticed that the international sports car competition had recently saddled it up – even in-house. Rimac Nevera, Pininfarina Battista, Lamborghini Revuelto, Mercedes AMG One or Aston Martin Valkyrie – more and more super and hyper sports cars came or are coming onto the market – only Porsche had nothing to offer after the always impressive hybrid car of the 918 Spyder. That should change with a series model based on the 4.50 meter long and only 1.20 meter high electric athlete. It will offer well over 1,000 hp and should be around 350 km/h fast and do the image sport from 0 to 100 km/h in around two seconds. When it comes to fast charging, the bolide should set the best values thanks to the 900-volt on-board network. “The Porsche Mission X is a technology beacon for the sports car of the future. In doing so, it ties in with the sports car icons of earlier decades: like the 959, Carrera GT and 918 Spyder before it, the Mission X provides decisive impetus for the further development of future vehicle concepts,” says Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG. “For us, daring dreams and dream cars belong together: Porsche has always remained Porsche just because Porsche has changed over and over again.”
But the dream of an electric hyper athlete that has come true is far from over for Porsche. At the company’s 75th birthday, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume confirmed that they were working on a luxury SUV above the Cayenne – of course just as electric as the upcoming successor models from the Macan and 718 Cayman / Boxter. The next electric Macan will be developed together with the Audi Q6 and, like this one, is lagging behind. Actually, both models should have been on the market long ago; but there is a problem in development, so both will not reach customers until 2024. At the end of 2024 / beginning of 2025 it will be the turn of the sports cars. The Cayman will be electric and its big brother, the 911, will at least have a hybrid version.
Porsche once again dares the difficult balancing act. While the new electric versions of the Macan and then the Cayenne have been undergoing testing for some time, many customers continue to rely on combustion engines. The two current generations of the Macan and Cayenne have been extended again. They will run until 2026 (Macan) and Cayenne (at least 2027). There is no time extension for the double pack of Cayman and Boxster – both will be electric for the 2025/2026 model year.
In the future, the Porsche Cayman in particular will be allowed to do more than before because it is initially the only electric athlete. While the 911 will remain in the model portfolio as a combustion engine after the upcoming facelift at the beginning of 2024 and will only be supplemented by a hybrid version, the upcoming Cayman, like its roadster brother, the Boxster, will have to be electric. The near-series concept study of the Porsche Mission R gave initial indications of the direction in which the Cayman will go in the autumn of last year km/h. It would be even wilder in qualifying mode, because then 380 kW / 517 hp at the front and 420 kW / 571 hp at the rear axle make the car a calculable beast that wants to put its up to 800 kW / 1088 hp on the road. This would not only be due to the powerful electric motors on the front and rear axles, but in particular to the 82 kWh battery pack between them behind the pilot, which currently weighs 1.5 tons for the test subjects.
The basic version of the upcoming Porsche Cayman has around 400 hp and is driven solely via the rear axle. More powerful versions with more than 500 hp also have an electric front axle and thus maximum performance of over 650 hp. The top speed should be up to 300 km/h as well as the image spurt from 0 to 100 km/h in well under four seconds. The electric range should always be 400 kilometers. The facelift of the Porsche 911, on the other hand, does not bring any major changes. At least one version has a hybrid drive; otherwise it remains with a slight increase in performance and subtle changes in design. In this context, there should also be a lookup for the driver assistance systems and networking, because Porsche’s sporty flagship is no longer up to par here. In addition, there are detailed changes in aerodynamics and in the interior.
