"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
06/06/2018 at 08:00 • Filed to: Porsche
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"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
06/06/2018 at 08:00 • Filed to: Porsche | 5
| 3 |
There have been stories — legends really — told of Porsche amassing an underground army of electric Boxsters for the last decade. We brushed them off to be mules for Porsche’s plug-in hybrid lineup, from the 918 Spyder to the Cayenne E-Hybrid, but we all underestimated Porsche’s capacity to be freakin’ wonderful Porsche. Mmph, shame on us!
Tom Voelk, Emmy Award-winning automotive contributor for the NY Times, was honored with 2 hours to checkout the Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo Concept-Prototype. At the very end of the video Voelk drops the only ammo I needed to feel validated that my theory of Porsche working on cars nearly a decade before they come out is true!
I mean come on! The 992 has been testing in production body prior to the 991.2 being seen!! I’m telling you guys, Porsche builds the best car they can possibly build then nerfs it down so they can leave room for the next generation. I bet you all that the GT2 RS is way faster than what will be delivered but Porsche wants to make certain that the 992 Turbo S can match that Nurburgring lap time. Sorry, sorry! Let me not start that Porsche conspiracy rant right now...
Anyways, this meeting with Porsche gave us insight to the production interfaces for the Mission E lineup including the first complete passenger touchscreen interface! Now your passenger can be distracted with Sudoku and keep their unwashed, heathen hands with their vicious, booger-crusted fingernails from leaving micro-scratches all over the center touchscreen and gloss black trim that you have wiped down after every use for the last 2 years just to have that effort and care destroyed within the first 50 minutes of a roadtrip!! We havent even made it to Amarillo, Nan-nan! Gwahhh!!!
Calm down...nice kitty...soft kitty...little ball of fur....*deep breath*
We also learned that Porsche is hard at work refining authentic and emotional sounds for their electric cars. If you are the type that hasn’t heard the insane banshee wailings of electric motors then I suggest checking out the NIO EP9 (current holder of the Nurburgring production car lap time record). Imagine this sound refined.
Also, look up the brutally underappreciated Saleen FourSixteen or the pedestrian awareness sound of the Fisker Karma. Electric car sonority has been explored for years but I know Porsche can create a future benchmark.
There are also plans to setup 300 charge stations in the US beginning next year which will likely correspond to the launch of the Mission E lineup of Porsches. In fact, electric vehicle infrastructure is about to skyrocket now that all automakers have recognized the absolute neccesity of charge points as all vehicles become electrified, though that does not mean battery electric (nor full-hybrid) will be the majority.
Lastly, at least for what resonated most for me, is a strong lean on the name
Maracaibo
, which Voelk mentions is a lake in Venezuela that can witness 28 lightning strikes per minute — though
Catatumbo
is the name most associated with the most electrifying event on the planet if you exclude the Rock Bottom. Plus, Panamera and Maracaibo go well together.
I still think that the Panamera Junior is coming, but we won’t hear more because Mission E is a launch for an electric brand in their eyes. Porsche can’t have everyone distracted with tradition in this rare instance. “I’ll just wait for the lighter, cheaper, better driving, track surviving version with an engine attached to those motors to come out,” arent the feelings you want online as you launch something as monumental to Porsche as Mission E. Yes, this really is a huge deal.
Porsche also talks about not seeing a rival, including Tesla for Mission E. Of course, all of the Teslas that Porsche owns would blatantly contradict those words. The most likely reasoning is that Porsche is planning to place Mission E as a more upmarket brand where there currently isn’t any competition and having their E-Hybrid plug-ins be the Tesla alternative.
Side note, Jaguar and Maserati are 100% aiming for the market Tesla has been unattested in but Porsche, though their E-Hybrid vehicles would be in the same range, seems to want their BEV lineup to be a step above. Not surprising, would anyone expect anything less than a step above from Porsche?
Thomas Donohue
> Wobbles the Mind
06/06/2018 at 09:03 |
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This is first rate Oppo...well done. I read the article in the Times, saved the Driven video for large screen viewing later.
The 987 Boxster E concept ‘went away’ but I had seen occasional pictures of it over the years, including a 981 Cayman E-concept. Then last year I saw a shot of a 981 Boxster with updated ‘E’ graphics and a charging port (can’t remember where, some college electric car thing, but it looked legit). I thought to myself.....have those M-F’ers been using these things as company cars the whole time???
Sly, wily Germans. I like it.
punkgoose17
> Wobbles the Mind
06/06/2018 at 11:09 |
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The CrossTourismo is a donk hatchback I am glad it is only a prototype. It sounds like Porsche is engineering things correctly putting in all those years of real world R&D.
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> Wobbles the Mind
06/06/2018 at 12:26 |
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That is an awful sound