How Soon Will We See An Electric 911?
Porsche’s future is committed to electric power, and it won’t be long before we see a 911 EV come to market.Â
Porsche has been fiddling with electric power for quite a few years. While the brand has been selling hybrids for several years, they have thus far steered clear of a 911 variant. Hybrid sports cars are not beyond them, however, as the 918 Spyder firmly proved. The coming Mission E sedan is a preview of Porsche’s electrified future, and there have been a few different full-EV sports car development models as well. The current model 911 Turbo S has basically proven how quickly an internal combustion engine can possibly propel a car from 0-60, so when are we going to see one augmented with the instant torque of an electric motor?
Porsche is playing an important game with their acceptance of electric propulsion in their models. On the one hand, they’re keeping a keen eye toward the future of automobiles and the inevitability that EV power represents. It won’t be long until the majority of cars sold worldwide rely on some form of electric propulsion, be it series hybrid like a BMW’s i3 with range extender, a parallel hybrid as Porsche have used thus far in the Panamera, Cayenne, and 918 Spyder, or a full EV as the Mission E. On the other hand they’re holding out on an electrified street car 911, perhaps in part because fans of the time-honored model are traditionalists, reluctant to accept change. We don’t think they’ll be playing that game much longer, with a hybrid 911 model followed shortly by a 911 completely lacking an internal combustion engine.
Porsche has been warming up their fanbase to the benefits of hybrid propulsion in performance applications in recent years, with the 918 Spyder introduced five years ago – Can you believe it’s been that long? We can’t. – and the Panamera Turbo S e-Hybrid added to the product line this year. We’re convinced that a hybrid 911 is on the near horizon. Porsche have hinted about an electric 911 in the past, and while the program has been a bit stop and start, it could be introduced by the end of the 991.2’s model run, likely a special edition based on the already ludicrously quick Turbo. Like the 918 Spyder that came before it, the hybrid Porsche will be capable of mind-bending acceleration.
Once the world has been properly introduced to a hybridized 911, and the performance implications of adding an electric motor, it won’t take long for Porsche to trickle that technology down to the more common 911 variants to provide a triple threat combination of improved performance, emissions, and fuel economy. There’s no point in hiding from it any longer, Porsche is diving into the future head first, and the 911 Carrera Hybrid will be the car to convince most Porsche buyers. Once the full lineup has been properly electrically augmented, the EV-ification of the brand can begin.
Like the 918 Spyder before it, Porsche’s Mission E is the catalyst to help convince Porsche enthusiasts that what they want is an electric sports car. If you think about it, 99% of trips taken in a 911 are not likely to be more than a couple hundred miles, completely eradicating the “range anxiety” argument. Buyers of an electric 911 would be blown away by the instant delivery and neck-snapping performance. If you think you’ve been indoctrinated into the church of Porsche now, just wait until you’ve sampled their full range of electric sports car range in 2021.
With Porsche spending metric tons of Euros on electric infrastructure and new inductive charging technology for the Mission E, it’s unlikely that all of that spend won’t see greater use across a full lineup of EVs from the manufacturer. I, for one, welcome our new electric overlords.
