Porsche could go more than a decade without a proper hypercar hero in its range.
Production of the brand’s last hypercar, the hybrid 918 Spyder, ended in 2015 – and according to the latest report from MotorTrend, a successor might not arrive until 2028 or 2029.
Porsche executive board member for research and development, Michael Steiner, recently told MotorTrend the brand is working on next-generation batteries with subsidiary company Cellforce Group to be showcased within two years.
Work on an electric hypercar reportedly won’t begin until these batteries are ready to be used in road cars.
“We are in the middle of developing our own [next-gen battery] cell,” said Dr Steiner to MotorTrend.
918 Spyder
“With [our subsidiary] company, Cellforce Group, we have samples [of such batteries] in the same size cells we use for the existing Taycan,” the executive said.
“So it’s not just a research thing, it’s real. For sure within the next two years, we will show what could be done with some of these cells in our series-production cars.
“This [then] has to be developed and pushed further so we have at least an idea that we could have some top-model cars within existing car lines with special cells.
“And when we are good enough in terms of volumetric energy density – really important for supercars – then there might be a chance to show what could be done on the road with, let me say, close to racing [performance].
“So I have [a car like that] in mind, we have that in mind, but we need some additional improvement [on the tech side] from our point of view that makes sense.”
At this stage it’s unclear if this successor to the Porsche 918 Spyder will be electric, or a hybrid with an internal-combustion engine to back up the motors. Given it’s planning to be majority EV by 2030, however, an electric hypercar is more likely.
Porsche recently detailed at its annual press conference it plans to launch at least four new electric vehicles (EVs) prior to 2030.
These include the Macan EV which is due in 2024, the all-electric 718 due in the “middle of the decade”, the Cayenne EV expected to debut in 2026, and a large electric crossover codenamed J1 that’s expected to debut in 2027.
