Riding in a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 e-Performance: this is what an electric racer with 1,100 hp feels like

Porsche has realized early on that it has to participate in an electric future. But what do you do if crazy fuel engines were your biggest unique selling point? We looked at the search, which is still open-ended for the brand itself.

Chance of high voltage fault

Even before I have driven a meter, it is clear that electric racing can be quite exciting. “There are two different emergency situations,” the engineer explains to me as I get a HANS system around my neck. For example, there may be a high voltage fault, which puts 900 volts on the car. “As long as you’re in the car, you’re basically safe. It is especially important that you do not hit the car and the ground at the same time. So you use a jump to evacuate, so that you do not make contact with both at any time.”

Driving yourself was not allowed with this electric racer, which feels just as fast as the 919 LMP1 car.

There is then no driving until I have practiced that maneuver so that they see that I have understood the explanation. Because I’m pretty stuck in the passenger seat because of the battery, which is placed on the place of the feet, that’s quite a job. First squeeze through the roll cage with your helmet and then jump backwards through the sill with the arms loose. Good. And the second emergency? “Thermal overload. In that case, it’s simple: get out of the car as quickly as possible and run away, as fast as you can. The driver will indicate it.”

Okay then, who doesn’t get excited about such an explanation? I squeeze myself back into the passenger seat and give a thumbs up to the test driver. “You’re ready? Oh, if you get carsick, let me know with gestures,” the driver adds. Sure enough, death or the gladioli…

Step on the way to electric successor Porsche Cayman

Like the Mission R concept car, the Porsche GT4 e-Performance is a step towards what should become a fully electric successor to the Porsche Cayman. Still, a road car is not mentioned today, Porsche is currently focusing on a new racing program for customers, say the types that buy the Clubsport versions of the GT3 and GT4. This e-Performance must be the car that these racing enthusiasts will purchase from Porsche and that offers the performance of a racing GT3. A race of the current cup cars takes half an hour and that was therefore the target: this GT4 had to be able to deliver full power for half an hour with its batteries. There are three, which deliver a total of 80 kWh: a large one in the back and two in the front. As mentioned, one of the latter is located at the feet of the passenger and one in the nose. They are internally cooled with oil to deliver maximum power non-stop. Full power is a relative concept: the car delivers 400 kW or 544 hp for half an hour for a hypothetical race. That is considerable, but beware: the qualifying power is 800 kW.

One of the three batteries is in the nose.

Yes, 1,088 horsepower. Which brings us back to what awaits me now. “The first lap we start with 400 kW, on the straight we go to qualifying power,” it is said. Good. Now how do I describe what followed? Survive. undergo. I’ve driven race cars before, but never of this calibre. The acceleration feels like a free fall, but more. The grip of a cup car on slicks is amazing every time anyway, but the feeling when the car pulls through for the first time after such a violent corner with its barely 1,100 hp is overwhelming. Like being catapulted off an aircraft carrier. Forget horizontal rollercoasters, this is worse. How on earth do professional drivers keep this up? It’s going fast. It’s so damn hard. And it’s not quiet. The squeal of the differentials and the high-pitched scream of the engines engages you in the drive and provides feedback. Why ‘EVs are silent’? The car has a single gear and seems to have little trouble tapping its top speed of 240 km / h on the straights. Limited by the revs that is, not by the power.

The Porsche GT4 e-Performance in action on the hill climb of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

GT4 e-Performance performs as 919 LMP1 car Le Mans

Fortunately for the stomach, it’s only about two rounds, and I mop out of the car to push all the organs back into their proper places. “You get used to it”, says Marc Lieb, who catches me almost literally. As winner of Le Mans and the 24 hours of the Nürburgring for Porsche, among others, he knows what he is talking about. He is involved in the development of new Porsche sports cars and of course also drove this GT4. In terms of performance, he says it feels just like the 919 LMP1 car he drove at Le Mans. “Only at high speed does the car pull faster. But further? The same,” he says. Undergoing is always different from seeing it on TV. To put it in perspective, this EV does 0-200 in 5.6 seconds. A Bugatti Chiron Sport with its 1,500 hp does it in more than 6 seconds. This is fast on another level.

Power in an EV easier than with petrol

Now power in an EV is a lot easier than with petrol and Porsche is therefore also looking beyond that, says Lieb. “Driving pleasure comes first and that is what distinguishes Porsche from competitors. That’s sound, feel and involvement, but also trying not to make the car too heavy. Due to its batteries, this GT4 is already 250-300 kilos heavier than a GT3 cup car. How do we keep the fun? That’s what I’m looking for with this car. We don’t know where we’re going either. It is also a quest for us. We have to see how customers will react to this car.”

The GT4 e-Performance is one of a kind, but Porsche will build a few more to continue the search. A world tour of potential customers and race teams is now being planned. It will never be the same as a GT4 RS revving at 9,000 rpm, but it is still overwhelming.