Porsche Plans To Electrify Its Four-Door Sedan To Compete With Tesla

“I couldn’t find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself.” — Ferdinand Porsche

Porsche will soon have its first electric car in answer to Elon Musk’s challenge to other carmakers to go electric. “Invest in electric vehicles. You won’t regret it,” Tesla CEO reiterated his plea at Detroit Auto Show.

Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley who wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gasoline-powered cars. With instant torque, incredible power, and zero emissions, Tesla’s products would be cars without compromise. Now with more than 50,000 vehicles on the road worldwide, Tesla is preparing to launch their Model X, a crossover vehicle that enters volume production in 2015. Featuring exhilarating acceleration, falcon wing doors, and room for three rows of seating, Model X define this category.

Does Porsche know how to make electric cars?

The answer is: yes. According to the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, an upcoming smaller Porsche four-door sedan may be issued solely as a battery-electric car. This would put it into direct competition with the “electric Ferrari” Tesla Model S.

Porsche is not the first German carmaker to plan out an electric model. BMW began rolling out the i3 since November 2013 and has increased production of the i3 electric city car 43 percent to meet demand that has exceeded the carmaker’s initial expectations. The car has a carbon fiber chassis to cut weight and improve fuel efficiency. However, with the cost of $46,250 for a city car whose highest model has a range of only 150 miles, the BMW i3 seems to be a bit overpriced.

In fact, there are three aspects that Porsche should consider if they want to be a comparable competitor with Tesla Motors: range, charging stations, and safety rating. To date, Tesla Motors is the only carmaker that has not have any car-recall issues. Also, independent testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has awarded the Tesla Model S a 5-star safety rating in every single subcategory without exception.

But how seriously is the German brand taking the challenge? The question will be answered once Porsche rolls out its first electric car.

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