All-new battery-electric Porsche SUV due by 2022
Big electric SUV will join German brand’s line-up, potentially replacing the Macan
Porsche is planning to launch a batteryelectric SUV, likely as a replacement for the current Macan, by 2022 as part of its investment in electrification.
Porsche finance director Lutz Meschke revealed the plan for a full-electric SUV at an event in Germany last week. “You can expect an SUV BEV [battery-electric vehicle] by 2022 at the latest,” he said.
Departed Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller – previously Porsche’s boss – committed every group brand to having an electrified version of every model by 2023. Porsche already has a number of plug-in hybrid variants (although some are currently off sale due to the new WLTP emission testing regulations) and the next model to be launched with such technology will be the updated 992-generation 911, which Meschke also confirmed.
Meschke referred to the electric utility vehicle as a “big SUV”, which would indicate a Cayenne-sized car, but the Cayenne is just a year old and not due for replacement until 2024/25. Although that would be a natural rival for the Tesla Model X, such a large and heavy model is not an ideal basis for an EV using current technology.
To get an electric SUV with a competitive range to market more rapidly, Porsche is most likely to focus on the successor to the mid-sized Macan – which currently shares its platform with Audi’s Q5 – because it is due to be replaced in around
2021. However, there are at least three other possibilities: a rebooted variant of Audi’s new E-tron SUV, a re-engineered Cayenne, or a ground-up bespoke SUV designed solely as an EV.
Porsche is already working with Audi on an all-electric platform, called PPE, for a next generation of EVS. The PPE is all new but includes learning from the J1 underpinnings that form the basis for the Taycan.
The PPE architecture is in development in parallel with the Taycan and could be ready for market in 2022, when Porsche says its batteryelectric SUV will be on sale.
Alongside confirming an electric SUV, Meschke told journalists that “the Boxster and Cayman could be suitable for electrification”. It is believed that both midengined models are likely candidates to go fully electric after more volume-driven models are launched.
The J1 underpinnings could be readily adapted with a short wheelbase and two-door body as the basis of a new compact Porsche sports car. However, such a change would reduce battery size, range and performance.
It is unclear if the PPE platform is sufficiently versatile to underpin multiple powertrain layouts and firewall heights, but Porsche has already built an electric Boxster E test car. A packaging prototype, it was also touted as a possible rival for the Tesla Roadster.
The Boxster E had componentry borrowed from Volkswagen’s e-golf and a 121bhp electric motor fed by a 340-cell lithium ion battery, all packaged in the space vacated by the car’s flat-six combustion engine.
Porsche engineers learned a lot from that car, including concerns that the weight of the battery powertrain would affect performance and, because the weight raised the centre of gravity, the handling. One told Autocar last year: “Fully electrified sports cars would work well for longitudinal acceleration, but the weight disadvantage is in the handling.” Whether a future 911 will use solely battery power is also up for debate.
Porsche engineers have previously told Autocar that the packaging issues of a purely battery-electric drivetrain were incompatible with the 911 as a fine-handling sports car with everyday usable 2+2 seating.
Last year, an engineer said to Autocar that nextgeneration solid-state batteries, which are lighter and predicted to be able to be shaped to reduce package space, might be the required breakthrough to make a 911 BEV a reality. However, solidstate technology may be a decade from production.
Porsche is working with Audi on an all-electric platform for a next generation of EVS
The countdown to the launch of the electricpowered Porschetaycan has begun in earnest, with the new four-door saloon entering the second phase of prototype production at the company’s Zuffenhausen headquarters in Germany.
The Taycan is the first in an extended line-up of electric-powered models in development for a programme that is budgeted to cost up to £5.3 billion through to the end of 2022. It marks a radical departure from Porsche’s traditional line-up, albeit with the promise of what lead engineer Stefan Weckbach describes as a “typical Porsche driving experience”.
When it goes on sale following a public premiere at thefrankfurt motor show in September 2019, it will be positioned between the £55,965 Cayenne and the £67,898 Panamera.
Autocar can confirm the Taycan will be offered in two distinct variants, with the standard saloon planned for right-hand-drive delivery in Britain in early 2020 and a more ruggedly styled highriding estate-cum-crossover, previewed by the Mission E Cross Turismo concept revealed at the 2018 Geneva show, scheduled to reach showrooms in 2022.
It has also emerged that the plant where the Taycan will be built is preparing for a Targa cabriolet version too. Details are scarce, but it is most likely to feature a large glazed opening that slides down to the rear hatch area.
The styling of the Taycan, as evidenced by the latest production-based prototypes (left), draws heavily on the 2015 Mission E concept. It benefits from the drivetrain’s inherent packaging advantages, combining the short-nose proportions of traditional rear- and mid-engine Porsches with the stretched look at the rear of the Panamera saloon.
It will be around 4850mm in length and 1990mm in width, making it wider than a Tesla
It marks a radical departure, albeit with a ‘traditional Porsche driving experience’
Model S and nearly 200mm shorter than a Panamera. The interior will provide a 911-style low-slung driving position with adequate space for two adults in the rear thanks to a flat floor and sizeable footwells.
Top Taycan variants will be powered by two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors, positioned within each axle, giving it four-wheel-drive capability. The synchronous motors were chosen for their ability to provide strong, sustained performance at high energy density levels, and are similar in design to those used by the 919 hybrid sports racing cars that won a hat-trick of Le Mans 24 Hours.
The electric motor at the rear will be more powerful than the one up front, a move aimed at giving the Taycan the rear-biased handling traits that have characterised Porsche’s models for decades. Four-wheel steering will also be used to balance low-speed manoeuvrability and the car’s high-speed stability.
A rear-wheel-drive, single-motor Taycan variant is also undergoing prototype production, as sighted by Autocar at the Zuffenhausen production line. It is expected to be offered from launch as part of a multi-tiered line-up. Drive for both will be channelled through a two-speed gearbox.
Porsche plans to offer the Taycan with a number of different power outputs, much like the model’s close rival, the Tesla Model S. Officials suggest variants with around 300kw (402bhp), 350kw (469bhp), 400kw (536bhp) and 450kw (603bhp) are being developed.
In the range-topping four-wheel-drive model, Porsche is targeting a 0-62mph time of around three seconds, and a top speed of “well over 124mph”.
Energy to power the Taycan will be stored in an ultra-slim battery pack using cells supplied by LG. The capacity has yet to be revealed, although Porsche is sticking to claims that it will possess a range of up to 311 miles.