Despite the threat of late afternoon thunderstorms and possible hail, 66 CVR members did not hesitate to attend the September monthly meeting, once again hosted by CVR sponsor Hoffman Porsche and the sponsor of the Hoffman Cup AutoCross series. The featured topic, like the anticipated weather: electricity.  As we all know, Ferdinand Porsche designed the Egger-Lohner C. 2 Phaeton in 1898.  The vehicle was powered by an octagonal electric motor with a top speed of 25 km/h.  So, it should come as no surprise that 123 years later Porsche would launch the Taycan: “spirited young horse”.  

Our Hoffman Porsche hosts for the evening, Fixed Operations Director Sam Pines, Porsche Service Advisor Ethan Gombossy, and Gold Master Technician Peter Sensor planned a Q&A format to answer the many questions regarding the current state and future direction of Porsche EVs. 

With that in mind, some of the questions and abbreviated answers in bold fielded by both Ethan and Peter included:

Q:  What are the strong points of EV vs ICE Porsches?  

A:  EVs will cost less to maintain. Porsche makes its own electric 800-volt motors. The Taycan motor is warranted for eight years or 100,000 miles.   

Q:  What are real world ranges based on customers around southern New England with heat in the winter and A/C in the summer.  

A:  Temperature extremes and driving conditions will influence mileage.  For many Porsche owners, an EV will likely be a second or third vehicle.  EV technology is progressing at a very rapid pace and the infrastructure to increase the number of charging stations is now a national priority.  Electrify America LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America, plans to deploy more than 2,000 chargers across 484 sites in 17 metropolitan areas and on highways. Stations will be located at convenient EV charging stops with access to retail, dining, parking and other facilities, with Walmart becoming a key partner to these objectives. For more information, visit www.electrifyamerica.com.

Q:  How sensitive is battery management to the long-term life of the battery pack? (How much does charging the battery at full speed and to 100% hurt the longevity?) 

A:  Using a 220v/240v charger, EV batteries charge rapidly to 80% and then slow down to 100% to protect battery life.    

Q:  What home charging options work best? (240v vs 120v overnight charging, etc.) 

A:  220v or 240v is recommended. Using 120v can take 40 – 50 hours to charge an EV from empty and 5-6 hours to charge a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle from empty.

Q:  When will a sporting 2-door Porsche EV be ready?

A: Porsche CEO Oliver Blume announced the 718 Cayman and Boxster will be electric-only when the next generation is introduced by 2025.  The 911 will keep its ICE power for now but expand with a hybrid in 2025.

Q: Porsche made the battery layout to be capable of future upgrades, so are there any battery upgrades on the horizon?  

A: While Porsche hasn’t disclosed any definitive EV battery upgrades at this time, look at the number of upgrades to the flat six over the last seven decades as a clue. 

Q: Will the EV Cayenne offer the same towing capacity and a real-world towing range of 200-300 miles?  

A: The newly introduced Cayenne Hybrid has a towing capacity of 7,700 pounds.  No word on a fully EV Cayenne…yet.

As you can see, Ethan and Peter fielded some tough questions from our EV-curious members.  They provided honest answers and plenty of high expectations for Porsche’s EV future. 

We offer our many thanks to Sam, Ethan and Peter for a thoroughly informative and entertaining evening, not to mention the huge number of pizzas for dinner!

Your CVR Programs crew….