How big??

He meant bird as in the colloquial form for women. It’s their form of revenge against him.

This is really nice, but will never ever go on sale. Porsche have built some EV Cayman GT4s, just as test mules to develop the electric powertrain for their upcoming EV racer (the Mission R). That EV racer will eventually morph into the replacement for the 911. But, in the meantime … who wouldn’t want an electric Cayman? Strip the graphic wraps off and tone down the aero, and these would be stunners as road cars.




It’s not as simple as just sticking the new electric powertrain into the existing Cayman chassis. To make them realistic testbeds for the Mission R, they’ve had to rework everything to get these Caymans to be the same wheelbase, ride height, etc, etc. They’re a totally different size and different proportions to a regular road going Cayman. These things are one-offs with custom natural fibre bodyshells (lighter/stronger than carbon fibre, made from recycled materials).

cockbeard wrote:

It might, the project lead was saying that it could become another one make series to run alongside the Carrera cup

No, that’s the Mission R he’s talking about. The thing these are testbeds for. The Mission R will get a proper commercial name eventually and that’s definitely going to be launched into a one-make series to run alongside and eventually replace the Carrera Cup.

The next cayman is already confirmed to be an EV only

Porsche have committed to more than 80% of their commercial output being EVs by 2030.

poprock wrote:

Porsche have committed to more than 80% of their commercial output being EVs by 2030.

That's great news. Need more of that.

b0r1s wrote:

Pretty sure Tesla are removing Lidar from their later models and betting on AI plus the normal cameras so spec for spec it is ok there. Be interested to know whether these cars are going the typical base model = shit add options route like Kia and Hyundai. One of the main reasons I discounted the Ionic 5. To spec it like the review models you were priced similar to a Model 3 long range.

There's very little customisation available on the P5 at launch in Europe - that price is the price. They're launching with one battery size (the mid-range version), 3 colours and a couple of other small things, but nothing that's going to alter the price dramatically.  

Xpeng are committed to Lidar, and I think them omitting it this time is more to do with their 3.5 OS not being ready for non-China markets. Ditching Lidar, like Tesla, is deffo cheaper, but it's also less accurate and less safe (especially for other drivers and pedestrians).

Tesla have never used Lidar, afaik, and that's to do with price. The units are about a grand each, and something like the P5 uses 2 of them.

b0r1s wrote:

Ahh thought the early models had it and they dropped it. Looks like they never did, though may be toying with the idea.

They used radar, which they dropped - assume you were thinking of that.

isanbard wrote:

I did notice there’s no mention of the gobsmackingly vast sovereign wealth fund of Norway built and continually growing off fossil fuels in that piece…did that have any effect in the progression/access to huge funds required for electrification? I’ve no idea personally but mention Norway and that’s what always spring to mind.

That's the kicker, isn't it?

Many of these initiatives are delivered at a local level, but local councils were reimbursed for offering these subsidies by the central gov. It wasn't a case of local councils being told to do sth, and then having to find the money out of their own pocket.

So yes, Norway absolutely has a huge advantage here - they can export a shit ton of oil, and then pour that money back into their lovey dovey, quiet green environment. 

I would argue that there is still a lot we could imitate and learn from there, though. For example, demanding all new builds and parking areas have the infrastructure in-place day one to accept EV charging, even if there is no EV charger in place, coupled with the Right to Charge law where tenants have a right to install EV charging capabilities if they wish. The UK could do that - it might piss of landlords but...fuck 'em, there's no reason not to allow that other than "I own the place" shithousery.

I'd also argue that selected EV-only parking lots in city centre locations and an extension of the charge point installation grant scheme are also do-able without breaking the bank. 

I'd also look to, personally, readjust the subsidies on offer so that the breaks on offer for cars over 25k are lower while, say, sub 13k cars get a larger cut, to try and deal with the issue of EVs pricing people out at the lower end. Sure there's feasibility issues there but people like 'Scape have a point when it seems that EVs in the EU still struggle to offer decent options at lower price points.

You know how I bang on about affordable ebikes with a bit of pop... Their Atom Military's £3,450 in Ukraine:



Workmanlike build, obviously, but if our BOAT laws weren't so tight and I could buy one, I'd definitely want to.

It was only recently, while comparing 50cc and ebikes, that my brain made the jump to derestriction. Used to be simple and everyone I knew did it.

It's also an easy mod, turns out, and you can get 45+ out of a lot of these 30-limited ones.

It’s reserved until mid August but if I can convince work to do salary sacrifice I can get a Y for a lot less money.

That's kind of obvious if you think about it. Scarcity is a very important factor in the value of an item. The boring grey, black and whites are so common it's not surprising that they lose value faster than rarer colours (which also often come at a premium for the initial buyer).