You hardly see any hybrid or electric cars in the Middle East or North Africa region. In Egypt only Toyota Egypt (Al Futtaim) and Porsche Egypt (SMG) were brave enough to import the old Toyota Prius Hybrid (1.5-litre) and the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, even if not on their official price-list.
That’s why it’s even more refreshing to see electric-powered rear and four wheel-drive variants of the Porsche Boxster E roadster sparking interest last week at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin, hoping such environment-friendly cars will make it soon to our Middle East region.
Porsche was demonstrating its Boxster E prototypes to a wide audience of representatives from politics, industry, trade and research at this global forum for sustainable mobility in the German capital. Around a sporting circuit, the Porsche showcased the Boxster E sports car concept; exhibiting the combination of innovation, performance and chassis responsiveness that is characteristic of the marque, and follows similar ground-breaking initiatives; the 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car, 918 Spyder super sports car and 918 RSR concept.
The Boxster E prototypes are being used as part of the Model Region Electro-Mobility Stuttgart 1 large-scale trial to explore the everyday practicality of all-electric vehicles and how they are used, especially in terms of driving and battery charging. What the researchers at Porsche are
looking for is an understanding of the requirements that will shape tomorrow’s products, the future direction of Porsche Intelligent Performance and how to integrate electric vehicles into the infrastructure. Mid-engine design provides perfect foundations:
Thanks to its design as a mid-engine sports car, the Porsche Boxster is the ideal vehicle platform for conducting realistic trials with electric-drive systems. The open-top two-seater car is very light, enabling the new components that are the electric motor, battery and high-voltage technology to be accommodated within the vehicle in a crash-proof way. Together with the low drag, this reduces driving resistance for optimal range. Also of importance for a Porsche sports car, even one that is electrically-driven, is the high driving dynamics potential, not least as a consequence of the balanced axle-load distribution intrinsic to the mid-engine design.
