As the Boxter E prototype shows up at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Berlin, Porsche releases further details on this electric sportscar, which is a future addition to the Boxster lineup.

At the Michelin event Porsche was demonstrating its Boxster E prototypes to a wide audience of representatives from politics, industry, trade and research, and also provided an opportunity for enthusiasts to take a deeper look at the car. After all, this seems to be the way forward for all sportscar. The main goal was to demonstrate the car’s potential as a practical zero-emission sportscar for everyday use. That’s the purpose of Porsche Intelligent Performance program, how to integrate electric vehicles into the infrastructure.

Just like the normal Boxster, the E is mid-engined and features a lightweight bodyshell. The whole car weighs around 1,600 kg, but thanks to two independent electric motors with constant mesh gearboxes that act on the front and rear axles – making it four-wheel-drive – it does 0 to 62 mph in 5.5 seconds.

The rear drive unit comprising motor and transmission, together with the power electronics for controlling the electric motor is located where the manual transmission and exhaust system are accommodated in the conventional Boxster. In the front end, the space vacated by the 64-litre fuel tank, now redundant, is occupied by the second drive unit. The power electronics unit in the adjacent luggage compartment serves the front axle electric motor. The Boxster E thereby features all-wheel drive without mechanical transmission of power. To ensure maximum driving stability and traction, a central electric control unit looks after the synchronisation of the two electric motors and controls the drive torque distribution to the front and rear axle.

The total output of the electric motors is 180 kW and a maximum total torque of 540 Nm. Pretty decent numbers. It will eat Tesla Roadster for breakfast! That said, the top speed is limited to 200 km/h (124 mph) in this prototype.

It is also completely quite at any speed, which is not something to brag about really, since it’s proved to dangerous. So, Porsche engineers have designed an Active Sound Design system that provides drivers with acoustic feedback as well as alerting pedestrians and other road users.

Its charging capacity is a maximum of 3.3 kW meaning that it takes approximately nine hours for a full charge. The charging time can however be reduced using a rapid charging function. But realistically, you are going to experience difficulties charging up your EV, not matter what type it is.

And now for some technical details we hand over to the Germans, as it is what they’re best at:

A new expression of Porsche Intelligent Performance
Irrespective of variant, the heart of every Boxster E is manufactured by Porsche. The lithium-iron-phosphate based traction battery is fitted in place of the combustion engine. Each of its cells has a nominal voltage of 3.3 V and an individual capacity of 20 Ah. Based on the NEDC, the combined energy from 440 individual cells is good for approximately 170 kilometres (107 miles) of driving in the Boxster E with its ready-for-the-road weight of a mere 1,600 kg.

For an overall weight of 341 kg, the battery’s energy content is 29 kWh of which for inherent physical reasons approximately 26 kWh are available for use – an outstanding performance for a battery.

Its maximum power output is 240 kW, or 60 kilowatts more than the all wheel-drive Boxster E draws under full load. The battery and power unit components are connected to two water cooling circuits. As with the conventional power unit, the heat exchangers are accommodated behind the front air intakes.

The battery is anchored to the same points on the body structure as the combustion engine in the Boxster S. There are numerous advantages to this, especially in the event of a crash, because by using the same load paths as in the Boxster S, the battery is optimally retained within the vehicle while at the same time being protected from damage by the surrounding body structure thanks to its central position within the vehicle. As with the combustion engine in the production car, the traction battery is installed in the Boxster E from below and can be swapped out very quickly if so required. This is also facilitated by special motor sport fasteners that enable the battery to be disconnected from the cooling circuit without air getting into the system.

Behind the wheel
It goes without saying that all of the important safety and comfort features of the production model are replicated in the Boxster E. The new brake system enables an optimal melding of the braking forces of the electrical generators and the mechanical brake system, delivered via lightweight Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB). The electrically-powered air conditioning compressor accommodated in the front luggage compartment ensures comfortable temperatures inside the vehicle.

Not only are the clutch pedal and gearshift lever absent in the Boxster E, there is no rev counter either. In its place is a special ‘E-Power meter’ in the central instrument cluster display. A swing to the right indicates power call-off, and to the left, power recovery. Recuperation – namely the recovery of energy by using the electric motors as generators – can be modified by means of the push buttons in the steering wheel; the effect is akin to an on-demand engine brake. Otherwise, when the driver lifts his foot off the accelerator, the Boxster E simply sails on, using the moving vehicle’s kinetic energy. Among its other functions, the instrument cluster’s right-hand TFT display acts as an intelligent range management system, displaying useful driving information: the range remaining or how many miles can be gained by switching off the air conditioning system.