Despite hardcore motorsport enthusiasts collectively proclaiming the 911 as Porsche’s greatest model of all time, it’s presently being outsold by the all-electric Taycan sedan. As a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, Porsche was already poised to electrify its entire lineup in anticipation of government restrictions on gasoline-powered models. But consumer interest in high-end EVs may be accelerating the process.
On Monday, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume confirmed plans to launch a full-electric crossover positioned above the Cayenne and Macan that’s likely to become the brand’s most expensive vehicle. This is being done to help prime the pump for the upcoming initial public offering we won’t be able to learn about until we learn more about what its agreement with Volkswagen for the structure of a partial listing looks like. But it also seems that Porsche believes there’s good money in EVs. Considering how well its high-margin crossovers have performed, this seems like a natural progression of its lineup.
Blume said the vehicle would be “a very sporty interpretation” of an SUV — which is already on brand — but provided no additional information on what the model will offer. Codenamed K1, the crossover will be manufactured in Leipzig before the end of the decade. Porsche doesn’t want to give too much away right now and it looks like the vehicle is likely to go through a pretty intense development cycle due to the hardware that’s said to be included.
Last November, Automotive News leaked dealer info that the K1 crossover was slated to arrive sometime after 2025 and may be large enough for a third row of seats. Since then, we’ve also heard that the all-electric flagship will be incorporating hardware from the motorsport-focused Mission R — namely its 920-volt electrical system designed to improve notoriously slow EV charging times.
But it’s hard to say how serious we should be taking this prospective model. Porsche is very obviously trying to hype investors ahead of the IPO and the related announcement focused more on the company’s present positioning, opportunities for growth, and ethereal statements about how it’s redefining luxury.
“Porsche is a global and iconic luxury brand. We are 100 percent sports car and 100 percent luxury,” stated Blume. “As an exclusive sports car manufacturer with the benefit of the economies of scale from our cooperation with Volkswagen Group, we are in the sweet spot of the luxury automotive industry. This results in structural growth opportunities for us.”
[Image: Porsche]
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I expect it to be an electric-fied Lamborghini Anus, and it’ll be called the “Porsche 959 Mozzarella-E”.
Is there REALLY a market for this?
Will all major top-end manufacturers feel they HAVE to create a “super-electric”
premium model to take a piece of that pie?
Maybe. EVs are quite trendy among wealthy types right now and they seem to be more interested in the bigger luxo models that make the environmental angle seem totally irrelevant. Automakers are also super keen to build EVs at scale since the assumption is that’ll eventually be cheaper to manufacture and regulation will ultimately favor them.
I’m in the target demographic for this vehicle, both in terms of attitude and income. Bringing our income up to the necessary level is new as of about 2 years ago.
We’ll probably take delivery the 3-row Tesla Model Y (that I ordered in January) before Porche can get their machine on the market. So my dollars will be spoken for.
But, yes, people who would pay top-dollar for a capable and comfortable EV crossover exist.
“So my dollars will be spoken for.”
If you legitimately have flagship Porsche money then an ~$70K Tesla shouldn’t be speaking for all your dollars.
Porsche isn’t doing this just because they’re worried about “government restrictions on gasoline-powered models” (and not just the U.S. government) but because of good old fashioned competition. 10 years from now, ICE-powered cars will be as sellable as CRT televisions. Electric cars for anything but long trips are more convenient, less maintenance intensive, roomier, quieter, lower center of gravity, and more powerful.
In roughly ten years it’ll be illegal to sell new ICE powered vehicles in most of the developed world unless something changes. Scheduled bans already exist in China and most big Western nations.
Maybe EVs will be better than combustion cars by then. But today they still have a some shortcomings, remain heavily subsidized by the government, and seem to be owned primarily by geeks.
Something will change.
True, which is why I caution my left-leaning friends (and left-leaning politicians) not to push for ICE bans by 2030 or such. They be like “but the climate crisis is an emergency, we need to act as soon as possible!” Indeed it does pose an existential crisis to humanity (I worked for years as a contractor to the National Weather Service and have met with head meteorologists from across the country; there wasn’t a shred of doubt amongst any of them that climate change is real, is a threat, and is caused by human activities). So why don’t I want to force EVs on everyone as soon as possible? Because, as you alluded to, they’re still more expensive, they take a long time to charge, they can’t go as far between recharges, and our charging infrastructure isn’t yet able to support an all-electric fleet of new cars. If the gov’t forces EVs on us, there will be a massive backlash amongst rural dwellers who need to go on long drives, as well as urban dwellers who have only street parking and no place to plug in at home. I don’t mean a backlash amongst far-right wackos who think climate change is the invention of liberal tree-huggers; I mean a backlash from ordinary, politically moderate folks who just don’t like that the only new cars they’re allowed to buy are vastly less convenient to use than their old car. And then these irritated owners of not-ready-for-prime-time EVs will think EVs intrinsically suck and then they’ll vote for Republicans who promise to axe the mandatory EV regulations (and also rescind the rights of women, racial minorities, gay/trans people, etc. and refuse to adopt universal healthcare like nearly every other developed country). And I don’t want that to happen.
I do think local and national governments should do things that will ease and accelerate the transition to EVs and other clean/sustainable technologies as they become available. But I do not think they should be forced on us, especially before we’re truly ready for them. I’m convinced we can let Moore’s Law do its thing just as on other new tech, and then people will buy EVs because they’re cheaper to buy and maintain and nicer to drive, and full of conveniences like Dog Mode or firing up the A/C by phone app 5 minutes before you go out to a car parked in the sun on a 95F day. We don’t need ICE bans to get people into EVs; that will happen by itself once improvements in the cars and the infrastructure make them obviously superior, which I’m confident will happen by the end of the decade.
“Despite hardcore motorsport enthusiasts collectively proclaiming the 911 as Porsche’s greatest model of all time, it’s presently being outsold by the all-electric Taycan sedan.”
• Well I guess Car and Driver was Wrong… about Everything. (Manual transmission, PorSHA crossovers, VW superiority, you name it.)
“We are 100 percent sports car and 100 percent luxury” – Porsche CEO Oliver Blume
• He means “100 percent confused”
“But it’s hard to say how serious we should be taking this prospective model.”
Why? What else could Porsche do, realistically?
They paved this road years ago with the Panamera and Cayenne.
What the market really needs is a luxury EV crossover from Porsche with 1200 horsepower, 0-60 in 2 seconds at a price of $180,000. Yawn.
Agree K1 to compete with Lamborghini Urus. Taycan turbo S performance now capped at 911 turbo S speed (the previous halo car).
Yawn.
porsche sucks