Amidst the increasing hype on electric cars, here’s one bit of news for petrolheads to cheer on. Porsche GT’s boss Andreas Preuninger has revealed that the manual gearbox and naturally-aspirated engines have a strong future that will last for at least another decade, Which Car reports. Preuninger added companies that are moving away from those technologies are making a blunder.
“I think we have an advantage in the market over the competition because everybody has skipped and deleted the atmospheric engine and deleted even the manual gearbox. That’s a mistake! Because if you look at the take rates on the GT model side, in some markets half of the cars are manual and everybody is longing for a car like this with a normally aspirated, high revving engine,” he said.
“It’s not an A-to-B means of transportation. It’s something you do for yourself, it’s something you do for pleasure and in that case it’s a healthy car, it’s like medicine because everybody is grinning and that’s healthy.”
Having said that, Preuninger is also excited about the new Porsche Taycan, the brand’s first pure electric car. He believes that the advent of EVs does not necessarily mean the end of performance cars as we know them.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of garages where a Taycan is parked next to a 911 GT3 RS and it’s no contradiction. The good thing that we decided to do is not to neglect one for the other,” he explained.
One of the biggest pushes in EV development is emissions laws, and that’s what Preuninger thinks will determine the power outputs of Porsche GT cars in the future, not mechanical limitations. He’s also aware of the shortcomings of electric vehicles when it comes to delivering the sense of analogue connection, which is something Porsche GT cars are known for.
“I think everybody takes notice and understands that we have to help on the automotive side to get emissions down, and I think for a car that’s used mainly in the city, in the big urban areas and isn’t used for the long-halls, then an electric car is perfect. It’s great!”
“But the expectation might not be that it’s a thing I have the urge to drive just for the sake of driving. For that hobby instrument, we want GT cars to be alive as long as possible.”
“I think they’ll be asking for that type of car [GT models] in 10 years as well, why should they change their mind overnight? And it’s a big customer base and we have to look after everybody, from the younger ones to the older ones to the hardcore enthusiasts as well,” Preuninger remarked. So far, Porsche’s GT team has no plans to fettle with the Taycan.
“No. We’re in different departments with different missions. We have good contact, we’re a relatively small company still and we talk a lot and we share our experiences and most of the people who work at Porsche are absolute car nuts. So we exchange cars with the Taycan team, but we’re not involved in any electric approach or project right now.” This is some real good news, yes?
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