The Porsche logo, a design combining form and function, symbolizes the brand’s heritage. It was first used on a 1939 race car and is still the company’s emblem today. It consists of a black square with a white center with an inset of the coat of arms of the former state of Wurttemberg-Baden and Hohenzollern (which became the Bundesland of Baden-Wurttemberg in 1952). The design was drawn by Ferdinand Porsche’s son, Ernst Heinz, and later refined by his successor as CEO, Robert Bosch. Its simplicity and elegance make it an icon.
Porsche is one of the world’s most recognizable car brands, and its shares debuted on the Frankfurt stock exchange Thursday under the ticker P911_p.DE, a hint that the iconic 911 will remain gasoline powered for some time. But the German luxury automaker spun off from Volkswagen (VW.DE), plans to gradually electrify its entire lineup so that electric vehicles make up 80% of sales by 2030.
Its plan will see the Taycan sedan, which will go on sale in 2023, spearhead a fully electric model portfolio that expects to account for more than 50 percent of its global sales from 2025. It will then add fully electric versions of the Cayenne and Macan, its two best-selling models.
But the 911 will be the sole internal-combustion engine model left standing. That’s because the company doesn’t think it makes sense to invest the $100 million needed to make the vehicle compatible with carbon-neutral e-fuels — a technology it has already invested in — when the 911 could ultimately be obsolete.
In addition, it wants to keep producing the 911 for as long as possible. That’s partly why it caused a political uproar in the European Union by demanding that its new emissions regulations explicitly exempt cars running on synthetic e-fuels from a ban on fossil fuel vehicles set for 2035.
The carmaker’s strategy also partly recognizes its heritage and customer base. Many enthusiasts consider the 911 a symbol of their youth and the purity of driving. It is for those customers that Porsche wants to keep the 911 as a combustion-engined model, even if it can’t be sold on the same basis as its other EVs.
The Taycan’s rear-engined layout reminds us of the sporty and agile driving experience that Porsche was founded to offer. Most other carmakers abandoned the layout in the 1970s, but Porsche stayed with it, mainly because of its success in motorsport. The configuration helped to reduce understeer and improve interior packaging, but its most significant contribution was making the 911 one of the most iconic sports cars ever built. Its unique, high-performance drive system has become a benchmark for rivals. Its combination of analog precision and digital integration captivates drivers worldwide. The 911 remains a sensation today, and its legendary layout will stay that way.
