Porsche 'working on electric car'

Porsche has revealed that it plans to put an electric car on the market within the next decade.

Despite intensive work on the project, Porsche estimate that it will take at least five years to come up with a model with the same handling as its petrol-engined vehicles.

The company believes that if the economy recovers it could sell 150,000 electric sports cars each year.

Electric sports cars

Car manufacturers promise a big future for electric vehicles and produce concept designs with alarming regularity, but there are very few on the road.

The electric car-manufacturer Tesla is now selling its Roadster sports cars, but progress towards a mass-market electric vehicle that matches the performance of a petrol-driven equivalent is agonisingly slow.

One man who is doing his utmost to champion the cause is John Wayland, an American engineer who has spent the last 15 years quietly developing a street-legal electric car that now regularly outpaces petrol-powered sports cars on the race track.

Radical-looking electric cars

Increases in environmental awareness and the cost of fuel have not altered the fact that the appearance of a car is still a huge influence on its popularity – a fact that has not helped electric cars, which are about function first and foremost. A radical-looking car like the Aptera (pictured right), which goes into production this year will do much to change the image of electric cars for the better.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “Electric cars like ‘White Zombie’ and the Aptera capture the imagination and that is half the battle when promoting alternative-fuelled vehicles.”

Electric cars: What’s good, what’s not so good

Electric cars: What’s good	what’s not so good
In environmental terms, probably the best car option around especially if the electricity it uses comes from renewable sources	Generally low top speed (although electric cars can have surprisingly quick acceleration, so they can keep up with city traffic without any difficulty)
Zero emissions from the car itself makes it a saint in the city	Limited range (until now) and lengthy recharging times means they are not suitable for long journeys
Extremely quiet	The batteries cause pollution problems when the time comes to dispose of them
Exempt from the London Congestion Charge, no road tax and only pennies per mile to run	Expensive to buy