No Hyundai-style fake gearboxes for Porsche Cayman or Boxster: “They make it worse”

August 8, 2024August 6, 2024 Stephen Corby 11345 Views Boxster, Cayman, EV gears, fake gearbox, porsche

In a terrible blow for driving enthusiasts who long for an EV with soul and character, Porsche has revealed it has no intention of introducing the kind of pseudo gearbox Hyundai has used to such wonderful effect on its Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

Speaking at the launch of the new Porsche Taycan in Tasmania, Porsche AG Development Driver Lars Kern said his team had test driven the Hyundai but decided it didn’t like the N e-Shift tech.

The tech simulates the sensation of changing gears, but makes the Ioniq 5 N slightly slower when it’s activated. Kern said he “didn’t see the point in making something worse” by using it in its upcoming new all-electric sports cars, the Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe replacements due in 2025.

“We looked at it. Obviously there are always people who think it’s good and people who think it’s bad, but we came to the conclusion that it’s not what we’re looking for,” said Kern.

While Porsche has yet to reveal the new electric Boxster and Cayman, the 2022 Mission R electric race car concept acts as a something of a pointer.

Porsche used a reworked version of the current 718 Cayman chassis to make the Mission R concept. It places the batteries behind the driver and ahead of the rear axle to mimic the Boxster/Cayman mid-engined layout.

Kern bloke speaks with authority when it comes to driving electric Porsches fast. He recently set the lap record for the fastest four-door vehicle of any kind at the Nurburgring in the Taycan Turbo GT super EV (a 7.07 lap), said.

“We don’t want to make an electric car feel like a combustion car. We don’t want to fake a combustion engine, we also still sell combustion engines.

“Why should we make something worse? The way that power translates, how power is applied in an electric car, is better than an ICE, so there’s no reason to simulate what has been used in the past.

“I have said I don’t see the point in using it to make an electric vehicle feel like a combustion engine, because it’s not.”

Kern ruled out the possibility of a faux gearbox not only for the Cayman and Boxster but for the the all-new, all-electric Macan mid-sized SUV as well.

2024 Porsche Taycan GT. — 2024 Porsche Taycan GT at Laguna Seca.

Kern’s team also recently set an astonishing record in the Taycan Turbo GT at the Laguna Seca track in the US, where its 1 minute 27 time was the fastest ever lap by a Porsche of any kind, with any motive force, at that famed circuit.

They Taycan Turbo GT has up to 815kW of power, can hit 100km/h 2.4 seconds, 0 to 200km/h in 6.6 seconds and has a top speed of 305km/h, as well as a probably quite theoretical range of 555km.

Stephen Corby

Stephen is a former editor of both Wheels and Top Gear Australia magazines and has been writing about cars since Henry Ford was a boy. Initially an EV sceptic, he has performed a 180-degree handbrake turn and is now a keen advocate for electrification and may even buy a Porsche Taycan one day, if he wins the lottery. Twice.