Porsche 911: Future models to go electric (too)?

According to Manager Magazin, the 911 is also set to be electrified in the future. This is because electric vehicles like the Taycan are well received (it sold slightly better than the 911 in 2021), leading Porsche to aim for at least 80 percent of its vehicles to be fully electric by 2030. Next in line are the Macan and the 718 series. However, they have held back on the 911: officially, it is supposed to run emission-free with e-fuels in the future.

Since Porsche also wants to be CO2-neutral by 2030, an electrified 911 would help achieve these goals. Therefore, the 911 will also be hybridized. CEO Oliver Blume has already stated:

“The 911 is part of our sustainability strategy. The important thing is: when we think about hybridizing this vehicle, it is not in the sense of a plug-in. It is more about characteristics from motorsports, i.e., a very sporty hybridization with high recuperation performance.”

The 911 is also sustainable in that it is generally driven for a very long time: currently, about 60 percent of all 911s ever built are still on the road. And then only with e-fuels? According to information from Manager Magazin, Porsche seems to be questioning this idea at the moment. An internal team is reportedly considering or developing an electric version with a solid-state battery as a second version alongside the combustion engine.

For this purpose, Porsche also founded the Cellforce Group, where high-performance batteries and cells are to be developed and made ready for production. The Stuttgart-based company is currently investing heavily in core technologies such as battery systems and module manufacturing. The first results are expected in 2024. Porsche is also stepping up its efforts in battery recycling. The Californian startup Quantumscape could help as a partner in solid-state batteries: in 2021, VW secured around one-third of the shares with a $100 million investment.

What does this mean?

All manufacturers – including those of hypercars – are planning an electrified or fully electric future – and the 911 is supposed to demonstratively use only E-Fuels – and only E-Fuels? This could be a dead end, which is why the company from Zuffenhausen is also electrifying its classic – which could be one of the first cars ever to be built (also) with solid-state batteries – which would be iconic enough to make the brand core fit for the next 60 years.