LOS ANGELES — Porsche will push for more power and battery range when it electrifies its flagship sports car early next decade.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told Automotive News that the company is developing a plug-in hybrid variant of the 911 targeted to debut midway through the car's next generation. With the redesigned 911 set to go on sale in 2019, that means the midcycle update — and thus the plug-in hybrid — would arrive about four years later, around 2023.
"It will be very important for the 911 to have a plug-in hybrid," Blume said last week at an event at the Los Angeles Auto Show. While the decision hasn't received final approval, it's "my opinion that we will go for it," he said.
Blume's comments clear up uncertainty about 911 electrification plans. The company had indicated it was exploring a plug-in hybrid version but said this spring it had dropped the option in part because battery weight would make performance unacceptable.
Porsche has prepared the next-generation 911's platform to accommodate the battery system for the plug-in hybrid, Blume said. And waiting until the midcycle update will allow Porsche to get more power and range from the batteries, he said.
Blume is targeting a 47 ampere-hour battery system that would allow for a range of up to 43 miles of pure electric operation for the 911 plug-in hybrid.
He said, "The potential is very good with the new generation of batteries."
