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by mtw 2480 days ago
Porsche are experts in transmissions and gearboxes, but are starting (almost) from scratch for batteries. Give them a few years, they'll catch on.
3 comments

They have built the 918 hybrid hypercar and a number of phev versions of their production cars that are faster than the pure ICE versions. The hybrid 919 le mans winner is also a triumph.

I think porsche has been developing electric expertise better than just about any other established brand, but they are focused on charging speed and consistent performance rather than straight range.

I suspect it might be motors too.

Why do they even need gears? I can see why we need differentials (until we have one motor per wheel), but can't gears be done in some electronic way with clever arrangements of motor

For example, the tesla has ~10:1 reduction ratio gearing, but I wonder if there's a clever way of rearranging the poles/coils of the motor, maybe like a crankshaft, so you get the best torque matched to the rpm?

> Why do they even need gears?

electric motors don't actually have flat torque curves. they make peak torque at zero rpm and then gradually decrease. the curve is much smoother than an ICE, but it's still possible to increase the performance of the engine by keeping it in an optimal rpm range provided you don't add too much weight and/or power loss through the transmission.

Porsche is joining Formula E next season so I imagine they will get up to speed pretty quickly.