Porsche has created an all-electric Cayman, named Cayman e-volution, which has been on display at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in its home town of Stuttgart.
The one-off Cayman was first developed back in 2015, but has been updated with Porsche's Turbo Charging system. Its initial creation was intended to show how electric cars can still offer sportiness, despite dynamic disadvantages such as increased weight.
The Cayman e-volution has a range of around 120 miles and can reach 62mph in 3.3sec – 1.1sec quicker than the current range-topping 2.5-litre 718 Cayman S, with the quick-shifting PDK gearbox. It's limited to 120mph, though, and has four-wheel drive, and a 38kWh capacity in its lithium-ion battery pack. It has a range of around 120 miles.
Porsche says the car is a hint at things to come and that it offers a flavour of what to expect from its first production electric vehicle, the Mission E. That car will have four doors, however, and a much larger range of around 310 miles.
What the Cayman e-volution does showcase, however, is Porsche’s new Turbo Charging accumulator fast-charging system, which Porsche claims can charge at a capacity of up to 320kW per vehicle. This will be part of a Europe-wide charger network that Porsche is working on with Audi, BMW, Daimler and Ford.
The Cayman e-volution will never reach series production, Porsche insists, so the next electric offering from Porsche will be the Mission E, which will land in 2019. Following that, the brand is likely to introduce more electrified and full-electric variants of its models, with solid-state batteries giving greater range, efficiency and improved charging times over standard liquid batteries. Porsche has yet to disclose when these variants will be released.
Read more:
2016 Porsche 718 Cayman S review
Porsche Mission E seen with production body for first time
BMW, Daimler, Ford and VW plan Europe-wide EV fast-charge network
Electric Porsche 911 and Boxster to use solid-state batteries
