Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says that he doesn’t like the “Tesla comparison,” and that Model S wasn’t a factor in the development of the Taycan, despite the fact that they benchmarked it against Tesla’s flagship sedan.
In a new interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Blume was asked if “Porsche will be cooler than Tesla,” and he said (translated from German):
I prefer to compare Porsche with Porsche. We will always be a bit cooler.
After Porsche unveiled the higher-end versions of the Taycan last month, several people started comparing it to the higher-end Tesla Model S.
On paper, the comparison greatly favors Tesla:
Tesla Model S Perf vs Porsche Taycan Turbo S
$105,990 $185,000
345mile range 280mile range
0-60 in 2.4s 0-60 in 2.6s
163mph 161mph
Autopilot pic.twitter.com/YCrWaGtlac— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) September 4, 2019
In the interview, Blume was asked if Porsche positioned the Taycan against the Tesla Model S.
The CEO said (translated from German):
No, Model S was not so conscious when we started the Taycan project four years ago. Our car is very different. We are the company that makes the 911. A Taycan has to drive as sporty as a penalty.
It’s not the first time that Porsche says that “Tesla is not a benchmark for them,” even though they actually benchmarked prototypes against several Model S vehicles.
Later, we even saw Porsche benchmark the Taycan against older Model S vehicles.
Blume also gave credit to Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his contribution to popularizing the electrification of the car industry.
Despite just having launched their first electric car, Porsche is one of the legacy automakers most invested in electric vehicles.
However, Blume still doesn’t see electric vehicles completely taking over.
He said when asked about an all-electric 911:
Electrically, I do not see the 911, because he is simply not designed for it. The 911 is the icon of the Porsche brand and a constant in the product range. He will be traveling for a long time with an internal combustion engine. But we designed the platform so we could put a hybrid on it. We are still waiting an evolutionary stage with the batteries, then a 911 Hybrid will be an absolute spearhead. The system can be as sporty as we did with the 919 Hybrid.
Porsche’s next all-electric vehicle is expected to be the Macan.
Electrek’s Take
While I doubt that Tesla and the Model S weren’t factors in the development of the Taycan, I agree with Blume that they should move away from the Tesla comparison.
It doesn’t look good on paper, and I think its biggest advantages over the Model S are very subjective — albeit real, in my opinion.
I am talking about the design, which I can see many people preferring over the Model S, and the driving experience, which I can’t comment on yet.
They should focus on those things, and I am sure it will do just fine.
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