Porsche's fancy new President and CEO Michael Macht, speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show, stated the performance brand is developing hybrid and electric powertrains for sports cars. However, current batteries aren't "sufficient to meet Porsche's strict requirements." Press release below.
PORSCHE SAYS IT IS WORKING ON ALTERNATIVE POWERED SPORTS CAR
New CEO unveils four new high-powered 911s and hints at future hybrid and electric vehicles
at Frankfurt Auto ShowATLANTA, September 15, 2009 Speaking publicly for the first time at the Frankfurt Auto
Show, Porsche's new president and CEO, Michael Macht, revealed that Porsche is
considering and working hard on an electric-powered sports car that would meet the high
demands of the Porsche brand."I am also convinced that one day Porsche will have an electric sports car in its line-up," said
Macht at the company's press conference today. While he cautioned that so far the
available battery technology is not "sufficient to meet Porsche's strict requirements," he said
"our engineers are already working hard on this challenge.""An electric sports car would therefore only make sense for Porsche if it offers performance
and a cruising range similar to that of current sports cars in the market," he said. "We are
therefore taking the first step in this direction with a full hybrid in the Cayenne, the
Panamera and maybe in the not too distant future also in a racing car or a production 911.
Why not?"Macht pointed out that Porsche has a long legacy with hybrid technology as it was exactly
109 years ago that Professor Ferdinand Porsche built the first fully functioning car with
hybrid technology.