Porsche Likely to Electrify Its 911 Sports Car

Porsche AG expects at least half its vehicle sales by 2025 to come from electrified models—possibly including a plug-in hybrid variant of its flagship 911 sports car.

As many as three-fourths of these vehicles will be plug-in hybrids, Klaus Zellner, who heads the company's North American operations, tells Green Car Reports. However, he expects pure EVs to eventually “take over.”

Porsche currently offers plug-in hybrid variants of its Panamera large sedan, Panamera Sport Turismo shooting brake and Cayenne SUV. Due in 2020 is a production version of Porsche’s all-electric Mission E concept four-seater.

Separately, CEO Oliver Blume tells Automotive News it will be “very important” to include the 911 in Porsche’s plug-in hybrid plans. The platform for the next-generation 911 due in 2019 has been designed to accommodate a hybrid powertrain. But Blume notes the company likely will wait a few years after that for battery technology to improve before launching such a model.

Although a final decision on the 911 plug-in hybrid hasn’t been made, Blume expects the company “will go for it.” This counters reports from earlier this year that indicated Porsche had dropped the 911 for hybridization consideration over concerns that the added battery weight would compromise performance too much.