The enthusiasm of the car has become a numbers game and we have no culprits other than ourselves. We are doomed to this fate since the first cars were treated with an objective comparison of statistics. The 0-60 test, the quarter-mile race, the Vault of the Nürburgring; each of them has contributed to the fall of funny cars. Everything is fast, but it is also heavy, complicated and boring. We are heading into a new era of automotive technology as the transition to electric propulsion continues. We have the opportunity to leave behind the trap of quick fun with gasoline.
It looks like every new coupe and electric sports sedan launched in recent years has been impregnated with a high-powered engine. The things that made old school minimalist sports cars great (relative light weight, good steering, agile curves and a level of communication between driver and car) can still be delivered in the electric age. You might think I missed the plot with that last sentence, but listen to me. With a less powerful engine and a smaller battery pack, the car can be designed with smaller, lighter components.
For decades, sports car fans have valued weight loss above the rest, which is why this idea may seem incongruous. Design an EV around a set of 16-inch wheels instead of 21, but you’ll start to see what I’m talking about. Less battery means you can use smaller brakes, smaller wheels, and smaller tires, which in turn means the suspension components don’t have to be as sturdy. This ethos, from the beginning, can mean that a certain car weighs hundreds of pounds less. This also means more efficient use of battery power and capacity.
I really like Porsche’s new Mission R concept, and I think electric GT racing will be great in a few years, once the technology is resolved and everyone calculates the charge and batteries for a very intensive sport such as racing, but I am baffled that Porsche felt the need to give in the car 1070 horsepower. It will still drive really well, because it’s Porsche, but it’s one a lightweight, small EV would be infinitely better. I’ve driven all varieties of Taycan, and the rear-wheel drive with the smallest battery and lowest power is by far my favorite, especially because the steering is nicer without an engine that powers the front wheels, and it’s a hundred pounds lighter than its large AWD battery brothers.
Porsche is not alone here. Tesla did not need to give the Plaid 1000 horsepower, Lucid did not give the Air 1000 horsepower, Lotus definitely did not need to give the Evija 2000 horsepower. If we’re just in an electric horse war, what sense does it make? Anyone can throw thousands of pounds of battery and engine into this problem. The best solution is to use rare earth metals in moderation, go back to basics and create the MGB of the future., not the Porsche 917 of the future. There is room for both, but only one of them will be fun to use on the street.
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I drive a Nissan Leaf with a 24 kWh battery pack. It’s barely as performance as a five-door five-seat hatch that weighs 3,500 pounds, but it’s not exactly slow with 161 horsepower on board. I constantly think about what this transmission could do in a compact two-seater sports car with the engine mounted in the middle of the ships that power the rear wheels like a Toyota MR2 or something. Cut another 500 pounds from the car in bodywork and gubbins, adjust the engine for 210 horsepower or so, and you have a possible winner in your hands. This is basically the specification Porsche built for the first Boxster (which I also own) and that’s all a lot of fun shit. Wouldn’t it be even better with a lower center of gravity?
Using the chemistry of modern battery life and the smaller, lighter engines Nissan has already developed, I imagine something with about 100 miles of range and a modern fast charge. The aforementioned 89 kWh battery of a Taycan can use the 800 v architecture to charge from 5% to 80% in about 20 minutes. Now think about it the additional load advantages of a battery around one-third the size.
I don’t want a sports car to travel every day, although 100 miles of range will definitely do the job for most Americans, I want it to make for a fun race on good driving roads, which I can easily achieve with 100 miles of range. . Still, a good Saturday drive would be great to do 100 miles to a place for lunch, load up during lunch, and take your ass home. Sports cars are used for this. They don’t need to run 1000 horsepower and sprint to 60 in 2 seconds, because where the hell are you going to do that?