The biggest challenge us….uuhh….petrolheads face in the next decade is the Coming of the Electric car. Or maybe that should be the second coming. It should be noted that the first land speed record was set by an electric vehicle, when one Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat drove his Jeantaud to an unprecedented 62,8 km/h near Paris in late December, 1898.
More appropriately for the journos gathered at Kyalami in mid-July, some 101 years later to drive an electric Porsche 911, was the fact that the first car produced by the great Dr Ferdinand Porsche himself was also battery-powered – the Lohner-Porsche Chaise of 1900.
Porsche noted at the time that the use of batteries for electric power not only limited the use of the vehicle, but made it very heavy. And indeed, these concerns were still front of mind in the assembled group.
The occasion of this invite to drive around Kyalami in an electric Porsche – a 911 re-built with electric drive-train by the highly-respected Porsche “tuner” RUF, was to showcase 150 years of trade and industry by another pioneering German company, Siemens.
Siemens had invited many financial and technical journalists to the Kyalami press conference-proper, where Siemens CEO Peter Löscher announced various development plans concerning the firm’s involvement in Africa, including a R2-billion investment in the continent to expand its business and sales structures.
But the motoring journalists had eyes only for the electric Porsche, however, with the clever name of “Greenster”.
RUF previewed the Greenster concept at the Geneva show some 18 months ago, and it is due to go into limited production this year. The electric power-train, called eDrive, was developed by Siemens and consists of an electric motor/generator powered by a series of lithium-ion batteries. The power-train is rated at 270 kW, and 950 Nm, coupled to a single-speed automatic gearbox (there is also a reverse gear). RUF claims an all-in mass of just under 1 700 kg, but it did feel heavier when I drove the car briefly.
The reason the drive was brief is that there was a power delivery glitch at the Kyalami race track – according to one of the Siemens management – and the Greenster was operating on very limited charge.
Hmmm, or should that be ho-hummmm?
More interesting was the recharge and energy withdrawal module that Siemens had on display, as part of the company’s infrastructure it will be setting up in Europe. Apparently, this is like an “autobank” for electric cars, in that drivers can deposit extra energy into these mini substations when they are out and about, as well as draw energy for a quick recharge.
This mini-substation system will cushion massive usage spikes on main power stations at peak times, for instance when everyone arrives home from work and plugs in their cars for the next day’s journey.
As for the most important question needed to be answered by enthusiasts? Well, it doesn’t sound like much, just your typical electric hum. It will be difficult to impart any feelings of “soul” to these types of motors, and let’s face it, a vitally important component every Porsche 911 made since 1964 is its distinctive flat-six sound.
As for performance, although I only used half power in order to let the journos in the queue have a turn up and down the pit lane, I could tell that the extra weight makes it slow off the mark before it gathers itself up almost as if it has some sort of power-band. Maybe the extra weight was a problem.
So we will have to wait before we can make any judgments on electric cars with sporting aspirations. But they are coming. Just days before the Greenster drive, AMG announced its electric version of the SLS.
