Mission E

[Edwin Ek]

http://www.motortrend.com/news/porsche- ... new-video/

This car is hot and cool!

[Mike Wilson]

Wow! Sexy!

[Glen Hamner, Jr]

Right, and to power the beast from the grid, a full one third of the energy required to reach our charging stations is lost to the ether due to inter-terminal transmission inefficiencies. Maybe one day we'll abandon the interstate power transmission system for a more efficient local power generating capacity. Sure, the power companies love to sell their excess capacity to those regions with marginal generating capacity. One day, maybe we'll create more balance to our need for change and consumption, hopefully it will come with more consideration for conservation rather than the current concepts of manipulation and impulsive waste. The further Porsche goes in this directions, the further it drifts from its founding principals. I suppose an argument has been made for the inefficiencies of transporting oil, fuel and natural gas from the resource fields and refineries to the points of distribution using pipelines, 18 wheelers, and rail. More will be revealed as humankind makes choices about its quality of life on this finite rock drifting through the cosmos. Arggggggggh, all I really wanted to say was, I'm tired of the EE's messing with my love of things Porsche. I'm satisfied with resolving issues for the bells and whistles I have, chasing electro-mechanical gremlins really isn't my cup of joe. Then again, its all the same thing really, isn't it, everyone running around in their climatically controlled modules trying to keep up with the Jones?

[Glen Hamner, Jr]

E gads, I must be letting my age take the better of me. Where has my youthful optimism gone and gotten off to? Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

[Vic Skirmants]

You are forgiven; go and sin no more after you say 50 Hail Marys.

[Paul Kust]

Glenn,calm down and go for a drive!

[Edwin Ek]

The further Porsche goes in this directions, the further it drifts from its founding principals.

Wasn't Ferdinand Porsche's first design a car with electric motors in all four hubs? The Lohner Porsche, if memory serves.

[Glen Hamner, Jr]

Dead on Edwin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohner-Porsche

[M Penta]

Glen, you are right about the tremendous inefficiencies of long distance power transmission. Localized power generation or "distributed generation" will eventually be necessary to augment power requirements for electric car charging. The new Tesla will draw 20KW on fast charge! Slow charge is something like 6.5 KW. The grid has significant capacity to handle Off Peak demand for now, but as electric cars gain popularity this too will become a problem (the extent of which depends on location, proximity to power generation, ect).

I am having a hard time embracing electric cars, but they are coming and Porsche needs to do this.

My 11YO even suggested converting our 83GTI project to electric. I did look into it and it is amazing what people are doing now, but it is very expensive to build anything worthwhile.

The vast majority of people will want electric cars once they achieve reasonable range, as they do traction control, stability control, ABS, back up camera, auto parking, etc etc. self driving even better!

We who like manual transmissions, knobs and controls you can operate by feel while driving (as opposed to viewing/scrolling through touch screen menu), simple transportation devoid of electronic nannies are a very small minority these days unfortunately!

[Glen Hamner, Jr]

The engine from my project was purchased from an early 912 owner who was converting his Porsche to all electric. I was sent photos of his handiwork and its was his dream to make it so. Only five years after his conversion I received a note from the next owner of he 912, he wanted to know if the original engine could be had, he was converting it all back to stock Porsche.

I was sorry to tell the new owner of the 912 that its engine was no longer stock and that it was certainly not available for his desire to put everything back as it was.

We are a curious lot, human beings. Those pushing for electric propulsion have their dreams, as do those looking to transfer the controls of their vehicles to computers. With some additional good fortune, I will live to see all these dreams complete their cycles. My experiences are precious, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to feel this way. Even the things I am attempting with my project are outside the mainstream of our love of Porsche, but, I'm going to give them a try, just because I can.

[Neil Bardsley]

Discussion of petrol v electric aside that is an ugly car. Looks like any other new car.

[Dennis ODonnell]

Probably will cost as much as two Teslas.

[Edwin Ek]

Discussion of petrol v electric aside that is an ugly car. Looks like any other new car.

Not to my eye on both counts.