slivel

Since this thread is about the 718 (983) EV, my observations are these:
Background - I been a Porsche owner for 35+ years and only have had two-seaters (951,914,981). I know a lot of Porsche owners and see them often. We talk about our cars and preferences and in my estimation, only a very small percentage of these people are enthused about Porsche moving so rapidly into the EV world. Majority opinion is that Porsche is going down a perilous path and that few of these loyal owners will purchase an EV sports car. Unless the Porsche marketers have identified a new demographic to buy an EV sports car product, I think the company is likely to suffer greatly. Perhaps the upper echelons of company management have good analysis of the market and perhaps they are just kneeling to pressure from the green movement within the EU, but from my small and local survey of Porsche owners, I don't think this rapid EV product pursuit will benefit the company.

Larson E. Rapp

The "golf cart" comparison isn't the insult you all think seem to think it is. Fact is, if you can't have fun with what amounts to a 400 horsepower golf cart, you're not a Car Guy or Gal. The real problem is that, to the extent there is something you don't like about EVs, there's not much that you can do about it by paying 2x to 5x as much for a golf cart with a Porsche logo.

Just got back from a trip where I rented a lowly Mach-E. It's a hoot to drive. Hit the gas pedal and you are someplace else, fast. I'm sure the handling gets squirrelly at the limit, but it's pretty much flawless in everyday driving, even by classic rental car drive-it-like-you-stole-it standards. It has better interior materials than my Macan on all surfaces other than the seats. And it is frankly more fun to drive, since it lacks a PDK that is tuned for economy/emissions purposes. Oh, yeah, and better infotainment to boot.

Most of these comments apply to the Model Y I rented last time. These commodity-level cars hide their weight surprisingly well.

So what exactly is Porsche going to offer me? The EV Boxster will be faster than my current 981, but that's all... it won't have any other advantages. Whatever Porsche delivers will be something that Ford or Chevy or Toyota or Tesla could also have done. Only theirs will cost twice as much, or more.

TL, DR: All EV powertrains are the same, or will be. And while all EVs are overweight, chassis tuning already does a very decent job of hiding that, and in the long run it is also going to end up being the same from one manufacturer to the next. Porsche EVs will likely be great cars, but they have no moat. No secret sauce... and no value proposition, apart from facilitating conspicuous consumption.

So, yeah, bring on the golf carts, I guess.

SoCal-NSX

true, many self proclaimed "purist" will never want an EV, no matter how much better it is ....but there is a whole segment of people who will never go back to ICE vehicles once they've experienced the convenience of EV's and there is no cool two seater sports cars on the market yet. Maybe they are hoping to gain a new customer base and still keep the purist happy by keeping certain models ICE for as long as possible.

SoCal-NSX

yeah, i roll my eyes when I hear people try to dismiss EV's as golf carts, knowing full well they probably have never even been in one let alone driven one, especially a performance model.

My first experience with an EV was in a test drive of a Mach-E GT and was instantly hooked! Ended up getting a M3P shortly after (as it was even faster and handled better), but I really like the M-E GT from its looks to its interior.

I'm also on a BMW forum from my BMW days and the EV haters run deep over there....it is quite hilarious.

Like you, I'm just a car guy, if it puts a smile on my face when I drive it, it is all I need out of a car. Taking family and friends for test drives for their first time never gets old seeing their reaction to the instant acceleration, it is like nothing most people have ever experienced in a vehicle.

gcurnew

Five minutes at the helm of a Mini Cooper SE in Sport mode would cause thoughtful and open-minded folks to drop the notion that an EV can't be fun and engaging to drive.

Schn3ll

First car?

Larson E. Rapp

Have you driven one? What were your thoughts?

Schn3ll

Slow, choppy/rough riding, laughable range.

Slower than the Cooper S, more expensive than the Cooper S, noticeably heavier than the Cooper S (I think 300lbs) and range in the sub-100 miles in colder conditions.

My wife owned a Cooper S, it was decently fun after tuning. The SE is even more like a golf cart than the 718 EV is shaping up to be.

Wife has a Mach E GT Performance Edition now for her commute, she honestly can’t wait to get rid of it. Some people like EVs, I get that, but then either they drive a good car or get tired of the boring nature of EV’s.

The market has shown we are reaching that saturation point far faster than manufacturers thought we would (some EV production has stopped for US manufacturers due to oversupply).

gcurnew

Have you actually driven an SE or are you just parroting what you've seen elsewhere? If you don't like the SE, you won't like anything electric. Why keep coming back here complaining about a 718 BEV that hasn't even been built?

nellborg

I wonder if much of the "distaste" for EV sports cars from car enthusiasts comes from the fact that they have automatic transmission? ....Not that there's anything wrong with an auto trans, but a fun weekend / trip sports car to me has to have a manual transmission because it makes the driving so interactive. I suspect a pdk with paddle shifter is pretty interactive, too, though I've never driven one.

The term "golf cart" that I threw out wasn't an insult, because if it's the right tool for the job, then it's the right tool for the job. The job of a commuter - for many people including me - is one where I think low price, low maintenance, energy efficiency is what you need. Just get in and go. I live 2 miles from my work. My ICE vehicles are not the right tool for that job (I could ride my bicycle, but rain, snow, etc) I'd love to have an EV for that commute each day and be able to zip over to the grocery store when I need to, but no chance I'd spend more than about $15k on one. Commuter EV's should be the focus of the EV market and be small, lightweight, and minimalistic. Porsche EV? It just seems like the wrong tool for the job.

Schn3ll

Indeed I have, we tested many EV's for my wife's commuter car / appliance she doesn't care about after needing to get out of her Panamera e-hybrid due to reoccurring issues. They were collecting dust on the lot and dealer was practically giving them away - a true sign of a vehicle in high demand with great driving characteristics. But at the end of the day, if you close your eyes in any EV while being driven, you couldn't tell which one you are in.

I come here as a voice of reason, with a warning not to make the same mistake I did with a Taycan (and my wife with Mach E GT). Far too many EV fanboys (who were tech geeks and never car enthusiasts to begin with) will try to obfuscate the obvious flaws and highlight the minimal pros of an EV - I have lived it, far from parroting. I know it's a shock that someone doesn't drink the EV Kool-Aid.

These new 718's will be expensive "sports" cars that don't achieve the goal of being a sports car. You also need to ask yourself, if Porsche's hand was not being forced by the EU, do you really think that with gas 718's still selling extremely well, they would ever make this move to develop an EV platform (especially after the Taycan sales falling off a cliff)...? Methinks no.

Buyer beware.

SoCal-NSX

meanwhile Tesla has two of the top selling cars in the entire world, I’m not a tech geek, not an Elon fan, but like cars, especially fast cars….
Taycans are collecting dust on lots because you can get a 4-door sedan that will embarrass a base Taycan for about half the price, with better range, charging network reliability, etc… They,re not the only car company that can’t compete with Tesla atm, but maybe being the first to the market with a cool looking 2 seater sports car might help. Especially if you consider yourself the biggest brand in sports cars.

btw, I’ve posted the list already of all the “sports cars” that the M3P has beat in lap times using same professional driver, including many modern day Porsches, if you can’t have fun in a car like that, than I don’t know what to tell you. Not sayin you would use it as a track weapon, but it has proven to be just as capable if not more than most sports cars at getting around. To be honest, it makes most cars feel boring after you daily a car that has that much instant torque and acceleration tbh.

But at the end of the day I’m not gonna talk anyone who doesn’t like them into one and you’re not gonna convince anyone to get out of one, so let’s just agree to disagree

ipse dixit

I got to track a Taycan Turbo S (at Thermal Club). Uber fun.

Hard on consumables (tires, pads, etc.), but if you have a charging station at the track (we did), an EV on track is revelatory.

Drifting

I’m sure the speed is insane and the experience is rewarding.

The weight really turned me off from the Taycan.

If the EV Cayman is truly 1500 pounds lighter (EV Cayman target weight is 3650), then tracking an EV cayman would be more fun than a Taycan……and consumables are likely far less expensive.

ipse dixit

You don't really feel the weight on a properly dialed-in Taycan Turbo S.

The low CoG and gobs of torque really mask the stated numbers.

Truth be told, the E90 M3 felt heavier on track than did the Taycan.

After all, you drive a car, not numbers on paper.

Alot of gripes that people have about "heavy cars" is confirmation bias from being told what the curb weight is before they start driving.