According to President and CEO Michael Macht, “We will definitely be offering an electric sports car in future. But such a concept only makes sense if it offers performance and a cruising range comparable to that of a sports car today.”
In today’s press release, Porsche announced they will begin “practical e-mobility tests” on three research cars, based on the Porsche Boxster model, but with all electric drives. The test is designed to provide insight into new electric drive components and battery systems for a possible electric sports car in the future. In other words, they want to play with it on the road and see what works and what doesn’t.
With the recent on track success of the new GT3 R Hybrid and having just had the chance to play with the new Cayenne Hybrid S at Barber Motorsport park, we feel that Porsche is well on their way to achieving an all electric sports car with “the performance and range” comparable to today’s Porsches. The full press release is below for your review.
Furthering the Porsche Intelligent Performance development philosophy of combining high performance with lower fuel consumption and emissions, Porsche AG will begin practical e-mobility tests as part of the Stuttgart Model Region for Electromobility in early 2011.
In the test process, three research cars with all-electric drive based on the Porsche Boxster will provide an initial insight into new electric drive components and battery systems for all-electric vehicle drive. This field test will also provide further findings on the infrastructure required for electromobility, user behaviour and the demands made of future products.
Michael Macht, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG, sees this research as absolutely essential to the development of electric drive in Porsche vehicles. “We will definitely be offering an electric sports car in future. But such a concept only makes sense if it offers performance and a cruising range comparable to that of a sports car today.”
Porsche’s commitment to electric mobility is evident in the three vehicles introduced earlier this year, each with a hybrid-drive system tailored specifically to its intended use.
The spectacular 918 Spyder concept study is a high-performance mid-engined sports car with plug-in hybrid technology. It combines high-tech breakthroughs in engine technology and electromobility with a truly fascinating range of sporting qualities. Emissions of just 70 g/km CO2 and fuel consumption of just 3 L/100 km come with the performance of a super sports car developing well over 600 horsepower.
The hybrid system of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid has been developed especially for racing, with two 60 kW (82 hp) electric motors on the front axle providing a boost for the 480 hp six-cylinder power unit fitted at the rear. Replacing conventional batteries is an electrical flywheel power storage system which is recharged whenever the driver applies the brakes. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid has already proven its racing qualities in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
With the Cayenne S Hybrid, Porsche also offers its first production car able to run under electric power alone. With maximum output of 380 hp, the Cayenne S Hybrid consumes just 8.2 L/100 km in the NEDC cycle and pares CO2 emissions to 193 g/km. The hybrid technology from the Cayenne S Hybrid will also be featured in the Panamera S Hybrid, which will enter the market next year.
[Source: PCNA]
Written on July 18th, 2010 at 9:38am by Pepper Girl
Could you swap an old cell phone for a Porsche Boxster? According to an article in the San Grabriel Valley Tribune, that’s exactly what 17 year old Steven Ortiz did. How, you ask? Time, an eye for a deal and Craigslist.
Craigslist is many things to many people, and for a growing number it’s become a hot bed of barter. In other words a place to get rid of previous purchases no longer needed and acquire additional assets in a swap of sorts.
Starting with “an old cell phone” that most would throw away, Steven spent the next two years making 14 different trades that eventually led to the 2000 Porsche Boxster S you see above.
Not possible you say. Surely you remember the story of Kyle MacDonald who famously traded a red paperclip for a two-story farmhouse in 2006.
It seems Steven has a similar knack for the art of the deal. For the full story, check out Rebecca Kimitch’s story. over at sgvtribune.com
The more I see of the new Porsche Boxster Spyder, the more I think this could be the next Porsche in my garage. The PCH has to be one of the best driving roads in the US and having just driven more than 1200 miles up, down and around the same places in a 2009 Boxster S it was good to see these roads again. Don’t forget to watch the video through to the end to see how the top functions. Enjoy!!!
I love the fact that Porsche is fully embracing the web and utilizing a multitude of social media sites to reach out to Porsche fans, enthusiast and prospective buyers. I’m even happier that Porsche’s first video of the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder is free of the usual voice over and instead is set to music with a bit of exhaust note thrown in for good measure.
Yesterday’s announcement gave limited details on the new 2011 Boxster Spyder. Today, Porsche revealed their new micro-site with in-depth information, additional pictures and a pretty cool interface. Check it out for yourself.
The Porsche Boxster and Boxster S have a leaner, yet more powerful, big Brother. Agile, powerful, open and efficient. That’s how Porsche describes their new 2011 Boxster Spyder.
As the third model in the Boxster family, the Spyder is the lightest Porsche available, weighing in at a mere 2,811 lbs. The new lightweight performance roadster delivers 320 horses from its mid-engined 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine (that’s nearly 200 lbs less and 10 horse more than little brother Boxster S).
The official press release, included below, has a top speed of 166 MPH and a 0 to 60 time of 4.6 seconds (when equipped with PDK and Sports Chrono). My guess is we’ll see times closer to 4 seconds flat once the press get a hold of a car to test. One item of interest, unlike the previous two Spyder versions (2004 and 2008), this new Boxster is not a limited production. Starting at $61,200, Porsche will build as many of them as you want. Full details after the pictures below.
ATLANTA – November 5, 2009 – Weighing in at just 2,811 lbs., the new 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder will be the lightest Porsche available – from a company known for lightweight, proficient sports cars. This new mid-engined roadster represents the true, purist form of the sports car – agile, powerful, open and efficient. This third Boxster model will join the Boxster and Boxster S and will make its world debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, December 2, 2009.
The newest member of the Boxster family stands out from the other versions of Porsche’s mid-engined roadster. Its low-slung, lightweight soft top – when closed – extends far to the rear to protect the driver and passenger from bright sunshine, wind and weather. This top, when combined with extra-low side windows and two striking bulges on the single-piece rear lid, provides the Boxster Spyder with a sleek silhouette reminiscent of the Carrera GT.
The Boxster Spyder features a 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine with Direct Fuel Injection upfront of the rear axle. Maximum output is 320 horsepower (hp), 10 hp more than the Boxster S.
The combination of 10 more hp and 176 pounds less weight than the award-winning Boxster S, plus an all-new sport suspension that lowers the Boxster Spyder 20 mm, a lower center of gravity, a standard limited slip differential, and exclusive wheels provides the kind of driving dynamics that back up the unique look. Aluminum door skins and lightweight interior door panels from the 911 GT3 RS contribute to the weight reduction.
When equipped with Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK) transmission and the Sports Chrono Package, the new Spyder, using Launch Control, accelerates from a standstill to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Top track speed is 166 mph – with the roof open.
Fundamentally, the entire Boxster family is the successor to the legendary 550 Spyder and RS 60 of the Fifties and Sixties, all sharing the same mid-engine roadster concept. Low weight and supreme agility combine to provide outstanding driving pleasure.
In 2004 and 2008 Porsche produced limited editions of the Boxster bearing the additional name Spyder, honoring the 550 and RS 60. In contrast, the new Boxster Spyder is a regular, but specially developed and upgraded production model as compared with the Boxster and Boxster S.
The 2011 Boxster Spyder goes on sale February 2010. U.S. pricing is $61,200.
For those of you not familiar with this sad and gruesome story, a little more than a week ago Fargo dentist Philip Gattuso was found dead in his condominium. His home had been ransacked, his Porsche was missing, and according to court documents, he was killed by repeated blows to the head with a hammer. Only a few days later police had the suspected murderer in custody. How they were able to catch the alleged killer involves the help of the victim’s Porsche, video surveillance tape and reads like a scene from a prime time police thriller.
According to police, Michael Nakvinda was paid $3,000 by the victim’s father-in-law (Gene Kirkpatrick) to murder Gattuso. Authorities said Kirkpatrick wanted his son-in-law dead because he didn’t like the way he was raising Kirkpatrick’s grandchild.
Nakvinda, a handyman by trade, drove his pick-up truck and trailer to a lot near Gattuso’s home, parked and walked the short distance to the scene of the crime. After bludgeoning Gattuso repeatedly with a hammer, Nakvinda packed up a number of expensive electronics from the home, placed them into the victim’s ’99 Porsche Boxster and drove back to his waiting truck and trailer.
The arrest warrant goes on to document the investigative techniques and information used by police to bring charges against Nakvinda and link him with the crime. Police were able to string together information from eye-witnesses, video surveillance and U-haul receipts that positively showed Gattuso’s Boxster being towed away from the crime scene by Nakvinda.
I’ll let you read the police report and arrest warrant for yourself, but apparently, the silver 1999 Porsche Boxster in question was one of only two registered in the county and was the subject of a massive multi-state search until being found this Monday. Inside the Porsche were some of the missing items from Gattuso’s home and presumably other physical evidence linking Nakvinda to the crime.
When traveling for business, I like to travel light. The bare essentials are all I need. If it can’t fit into my wheeled carry-on or soft-sided suit carrier then there’s no reason to bring it along. In fact, I once managed a three week trip to Singapore out of a soft-sided suit carrier and a brief-case (thank God for hotel dry cleaners, overnight tailors and strong deodorant). Given my extensive travel history, it should come as no surprise that I really don’t stress when it comes to packing for a trip. That all changed a few weeks ago.
My wife and I were planning a trip to California to drive a 2009 Porsche Boxster S along the Pacific Coast Highway (that’s it above). California, beautiful scenery, a Porsche cabriolet, where’s the stress? While traveling light is great for business, it’s not necessarily great when you’re on vacation. You need clothes for different activities, different types of dining, different temperatures, etc. etc. Combine these facts that it’s now two people traveling vs. one and the need for more luggage, lots more luggage, becomes necessary very quickly. Where’s it all going to fit? Even with the limited trunk space in my 993 I know I can fit any overflow into the back seat. Not so with the Boxster. As a true roadster, with only two seats and no back seats to speak of, if you can’t get the luggage in the trunk space…
How Much Luggage Fits in a Porsche Boxster?
As we packed for the trip I researched to see if I could get more information as to what we could fit for luggage. While it was easy to find that the Boxster has just shy of 10 cubic feet worth of luggage capacity (a minimum of 50% more than any of its competitors and over twice as much as a 911) I couldn’t get anything solid about what that equates to in terms of actual luggage. I had some tell me you could fit multiple carry-on pieces in each storage area (as the Boxster is mid-engined there’s luggage space in the front and back) and others suggest that anything other than a duffel would be difficult to transport. About the only thing that everyone seemed to agree upon was the need to pack soft-sided luggage. This way if something didn’t fit perfect you could still move or massage it into place.
Without any hard information to go on, and taking my life into my own hands, I did the unthinkable and told my wife she couldn’t take that fifth pair of heels. Fortunately, she was very understanding and we both packed more conservatively than usual. Our luggage consisted of one full-sized, wheeled carry-on, a soft-sided suit carrier, an expandable gym duffel bag and two back pack. The picture below shows the actual bags we took with us.
As it turned out, I risked life, limb and a possible night on the couch for no reason at all. The advice to take soft-side luggage is worth listening to, but not all your luggage need be put in duffels. The cargo and luggage space in a Boxster is massive! Granted, it’s no Cayenne, but the front luggage area is deep enough easily store two full-size, wheeled carry on bags, plus a back-pack and a number of other objects packed around them. As the picture below shows, I could have easily taken a second wheeled carry-on vs. the blue duffel and still had additional space.
The rear luggage space, while not as deep as the front, is much wider and accommodated the suit-carrier and larger back pack with room to spare.
What these pictures don’t show is that even with all these bags, there was still much more room to fit plenty more. In fact, we could easily have taken another soft-side bag in the front and even then still have space left over for purchases along the way.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a Boxster and are at all concerned about the lack of storage and luggage space, don’t be. Even the biggest clothes horse could comfortably live out of the Boxster for a two or three week trip with no problem what so ever.
As a side note, and something you don’t want to learn the hard way, be sure to pack anything that could possibly melt (make-up, perishable food, coolers, etc.) in the front space. While I don’t know that exact temperatures reached in the rear trunk space, with the mid-engine resting again the trunk wall, I do know it could easily double as a food warmer in a jiffy. More on the rest of the trip and the 1200 miles we spent getting to know the Porsche Boxster S later.
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Fortunately, she was very understanding and we both packed more conservatively than usual. Our luggage consisted of one full-sized, wheeled carry-on, a soft-sided suit carrier, an expandable gym duffel bag and two back pack. The picture below shows the actual bags we took with us. 
