According to Porsche, a brand that is a benchmark in motorsport, a fake gearbox has no point in an electric car. The German manufacturer will not be going to be the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, a model that offers this feature.
Test driver for Porsche, Lars Kern spoke about a technology that is controversial in the world of motorsport. Should gear changes be simulated on an electric car? Some vehicles already offer this feature. This is the case with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, the sports version of the South Korean. Rev counter that comes to life when the clutch has to "reengage", sensations of torque breaks linked to changing to a higher gear... It's all fake, but quite impressive. However, that's not enough to impress Porsche.
Electric Porsches will not imitate the Ioniq 5 N
The German manufacturer has stated that there is "no reason to simulate the past". Yet while it is aware that some customers might appreciate technology like this, the brand believes that a fake gearbox is really of no interest. According to Lars Kern, “the electric motor is better than the internal combustion engine. So why simulate a worse technology?” He assures that the technologies developed by the competition are “taken into account”, but that the question is always “why do we have to do things?”
Porsche has probably studied this feature, but it never got beyond the idea stage. “We drove the Ioniq 5 N and looked at it. There are always people who think it’s a good idea and there are always people who think it’s a bad idea,” says the test driver. In reality, when you drive an electric car, you’re not looking for the sensations of a combustion engine. The smooth, instant acceleration is perhaps one of the best features of an electric car. So why would you need to simulate a fake gearbox?
No comments