This is an interesting development – you know that big starter battery that you have in your car? It’s usually a lead battery but now Porsche has the option for you to use a lithium ion battery! The li-ion starter battery weighs less than 6kg, which results in an over 10kg weight reduction in the car.
The lithium-ion starter battery will be available from January next year for the Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and the Porsche Boxster Spyder. It will be an option priced at 1,904 Euros delivered with the car. The car will be delivered with the lead battery installed, and the lithium ion battery accompanying it. The lead battery is still required as the lithium battery does not work in temperatures below 0 degrees Celcius, so winter starts won’t do. It’ll work great in Malaysia though, where the temperatures are always in the battery’s operating range.
Swapping the batteries yourself should be easy as the fastening points, electrical connections and voltage range are fully compatible with the lead models. The li-ion battery is the same length and width as the lead battery but is about 7cm shorter.
The new li-ion battery’s capacity is about 18Ah, which at first seems far lower than a lead battery’s 60Ah, but Porsche claims that a lead battery only has a practical usable capacity of about 30%, while in a lithium ion battery it’s almost 100%. The lithium ion battery can also be recharged by the alternator more quickly thanks to smaller internal resistance. The li-ion battery also allows for a greater amount of charge/discharge cycles, and a reduced self-discharge effect, thus prolonging battery life.
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Still too expansive?
So the porche car need the normal batteries in winter, which adds 10kg+ whatever weigh this Li battery is. Waste of space as well?
too xpensive, but is the porsche going to give it a new name ? 911 GT Li. etc
this is good.. but if the price is more than double the price of lead it still not attractive for normal car..
what i am sure is this battery life time is sure longer, and no memory effect and charging-discharging..
This is good news. Since it is very new and not available for most production cars, the price is still expensive. Let's wait a bit longer – i am sure if we give it another 3-4 years the price will start to go down when it reaches critical mass.
Was reading interestingly until the part that says "1,904 Euros"
I think one day all battery car will be using this Li batteries.
I'm sure over time the price will reach sensible levels. For now it's still fairly new tech even for motorsport i would imagine. I think some F1 teams with KERS use Li-ion batts. In Le Mans racing, the new Audi R15 TDI LMP1 racer is using Li-ion batts
For someone who's paying 50-100k euros for a car, I'm sure 1904 euros won't be a big deal. What I'm impressed about is that Porsche is pushing the envelope in technology even if it starts with the high end customer. Eventually some of these will trickle down to us little people once the technology matures enough and the kinks are ironed out.
What is Porsche thinking. Swapping batteries twice a year doesn't sound appealing to me…. and true, 1900 euros is only 2% of the car's price, but I'd rather spend that kind of money elsewhere.
andrew said,
November 24, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
What is Porsche thinking. Swapping batteries twice a year doesn’t sound appealing to me…. and true, 1900 euros is only 2% of the car’s price, but I’d rather spend that kind of money elsewhere.
betul2..peduli aper mahal ker x..korang xder duit cakap la mahal..orang dah beli porsche tu memang la banyak duit bodo!!
Kudos to Porsche!
This move shows that Porsche (and the rest of Europe) is concern with environment too. Not many people know that our typical Lead Battery ain't good for the environment. Heavy metal (such as lead) could contaminate our soil and could compromise our supply of clean ground water. Lead is also a common cancerous agent; harmful to the human body. For the past 100 years, since the Industrial Age began its "rape" to mother nature, lead has been used widely and without proper control.
nice development, weight reduction and lower pollution.
give another 10 years and it will be installed in all cars.
er6n, "orang dah beli porsche tu memang la banyak duit"??
Obviously you can't tell the difference between people w/ money and people w/ passion for driving, can you?
Haha don't mind him andrew, some of the bashers are merely students or some middle income fresh grads with no true passion to automotive.
Anyway, hopefully some rich Chinese tauke in china would buy one of the porsche car with the Li-ion battery, copy the whole thing, and resale it back to the Asian market for 1/10 of the price. Schweet… :) I'll bet in another 5 years you can have one of these in your aging proton persona.
There is nothing wrong with Porsche offering this battery despite the high costs. It is indeed a cost option for Porsche enthusiasts who can afford current Porsches.
It's significant weight saving is more worthwhile for track use.
The future of EV now evolve.