A Porsche 911 at dusk. © Jan Woitas / dpa
A sports car has to be tubular, loud, preferably heard in the neighboring town. At least that's the opinion of many car fans – but how does a carmaker deal with it that is increasingly relying on electric drives?
Stuttgart - Too expensive, too bony, too loud, too many bells and whistles: If you want to work your way through Porsche, you can find a number of such points. While most carmakers, for example, are putting their new all-electric models in the shop window, the 911 is to roar with a combustion engine for the time being. And so far, Porsche has only put one all-electric model on the road. So the Stuttgart-based company is apparently not being driven by the spirit of the times. And yet - or perhaps because of it - Porsche is more successful than ever 75 years after the first registration of its first sports car. The only question is: Will it stay that way when electromobility arrives?
From post-war Austria to the present day: The eventful history of Porsche sports cars
35 hp, a weight of just under 600 kilograms and a top speed of 135 kilometers per hour: What doesn't sound like a sports car at all today was a small technological revolution in 1948. With its round headlights and sleek shape, the Porsche 356 is visually reminiscent of its successors. On June 8, 1948, the original Porsche, which was manufactured in Gmünd in Austria, received its first registration - this is considered the birth of the Porsche sports car.
A lot has happened since then: racing successes, the development of the 911 in 1963 - so here, too, there is a birthday to celebrate - and growth. But also the impending decline of the 90s, with today's best-selling model Cayenne, the flight into the SUV segment and a lost takeover battle with Volkswagen.
On the other hand, the logo emblazoned on the front of the vehicles has hardly changed. Since 1952, the coat of arms with the horse in the middle has been used. And even though Porsche presented a modernization at the beginning of June, which is said to have been created in a three-year process, the coat of arms with the reference to Stuttgart, the golden background and the black and red bars has remained largely the same.
Psychologist: Porsche clientele unchanged
What hasn't changed is the Porsche clientele, as business psychologist Rüdiger Hossiep from the University of Bochum observes. He describes it this way: "Porsche drivers want to radiate that they are solvent, sporty and in a good mood. For many – especially for men – it is also a childhood dream." Porsche itself also speaks of the "high loyalty" of its customers. That hasn't changed with the introduction of the SUV. And with the introduction of the only all-electric model, the Taycan, new customer groups have also been tapped in.
To find out what kind of people are attracted by such a car, it's worth taking a look at Hossiep's surveys. According to the study, Porsche drivers are well above the average for all drivers in terms of sportiness, fascination, enjoyment, public image, status awareness and many more. Less important to them than the average are compliance, security and functionality. For a car where the ignition lock is mounted on the left, because that used to promise a starting advantage at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, these are not particularly surprising results.
Porsche's profit rises steadily
A Porsche is "a toy for people who earn good money, are well on the road and then also want to show that they have fun in life," says car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer. This also has something to do with moving dynamically. Porsche customers are also people who defy conventions and want to play entrepreneurs, he says. This is one of the reasons why Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) is so in love with Porsche.
0
Also Read
Dispute over Habeck's heating law: unconstitutional according to expert opinion
READ
Because of electric cars: Drivers can no longer use car radios
READ
Heat pump: This is how much distance you have to keep from your neighbour
READ
Pension: Up to this amount, you do not have to pay taxes
READ
After massive subsidies: In Italy, the market for heat pumps is dead
READMone area
The fact that good money can be earned with such a "toy" is shown by a look at the current figures of the Zuffenhausen-based company. Profits are rising continuously and the vast majority of carmakers can only dream of a margin - i.e. the share of operating profit in sales - of 18.2 percent. In addition, Porsche is already listed in the Dax less than a year after the IPO and has long since left its parent company VW behind in terms of stock market valuation.
Psychologists in dispute: Do electric drive and Porsche go together?
But what will become of the fun if in the future it will no longer be the boxer engine that roars behind your back, but the battery will provide the drive? For psychologist Hossiep, they don't really go together. "A life with an electric Porsche sports car is possible, but pointless." For sports car drivers, this included haptics, smells, sounds or vibrations. Letting this come out of the loudspeaker is unthinkable for many. "You might as well sit in a driving simulator."
Dudenhöffer takes a slightly different view: electric cars accelerate faster than a conventional vehicle, which fits in with the dynamics again. "That's why I think it's actually a very good match." The time in which speed is accompanied by noise is coming to an end. "That's why I think Porsche will survive."
Electric version of the 911 not planned
Specifically, Porsche plans to deliver more than 2030 percent of its new vehicles fully electric by 80. But this goal has receded into the distance in 2022: Because significantly fewer units of the Taycan were sold, the pure electric share fell from 13.7 percent to 11 percent. The reason for this is supply bottlenecks, according to the company. The downward trend continued at the beginning of 2023.
On the other hand, Porsche is investing in its own production of eFuels in Chile and is relying on the potentially climate-friendly fuel to decarbonise its large existing fleet. Ultimately, however, it should also be about bringing the classic 911 further to the man and woman. According to the company, there will be no all-electric version of the 911, at least as things stand today.
Porsche 911: Is a hybrid version coming?
The batteries would have to be significantly lighter and smaller in order to implement the classic concept of a 2 + 2-seater with the engine behind the rear axle, explains a spokeswoman. But think about a very sporty hybrid version of the 911. "The 911 will continue to be available as a combustion engine as long as there are enough customers who demand combustion vehicles and as long as the regulations allow it." Demand remains high. (dpa, lf)