OT: Electric vehicles

[mildone]

How much faster are these then straight ICE?

Here's a pretty comprehensive list of Nürburgring lap times:

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

To get an idea, search that web page for "Non-series/non-road-legal" you'll see the Porsche 919's record holding lap time (hybrid) of 5:19, followed by the Volkswagen ID.R lap time (ev) of 6:05. The first pure ICE car on that list is Porsche GT2/RS with a time of 6:40.

For "normal" road car context, my 992 GT3 set a time of 7:07. I couldn't do that time in the car, but a top pro driver can. A base C8 Corvette: 7:29 (pretty sure the upcoming ZR1 will be in the 6s).

So yeah, a time of 5:19 is mind-blowingly fast. A lot of people, riding along in a car going that speed on the Nürburgring, would poop themselves. As much as I'd enjoy driving that track at those speeds, I would totally hate doing it as a passenger.

The drive type (hybrid,ev,ice) isn't the biggest determinant. Aero, suspension and mechanical grip are equally if not more important. But having the instant acceleration of an electric motor combined with highly refined traction control programming is very helpful.

 

[RU-05]

Here's a pretty comprehensive list of Nürburgring lap times:

List of Nürburgring Nordschleife lap times - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

To get an idea, search that web page for "Non-series/non-road-legal" you'll see the Porsche 919's record holding lap time (hybrid) of 5:19, followed by the Volkswagen ID.R lap time (ev) of 6:05. The first pure ICE car on that list is Porsche GT2/RS with a time of 6:40.

For "normal" road car context, my 992 GT3 set a time of 7:07. I couldn't do that time in the car, but a top pro driver can. A base C8 Corvette: 7:29 (pretty sure the upcoming ZR1 will be in the 6s).

So yeah, a time of 5:19 is mind-blowingly fast. A lot of people, riding along in a car going that speed on the Nürburgring, would poop themselves. As much as I'd enjoy driving that track at those speeds, I would totally hate doing it as a passenger.

The drive type (hybrid,ev,ice) isn't the biggest determinant. Aero, suspension and mechanical grip are equally if not more important. But having the instant acceleration of an electric motor combined with highly refined traction control programming is very helpful.

It seemed a lot faster then anything I've seen before, and those times back that up. 5:19 vs 6:40 is a blowout.

 

[mildone]

How is this a blow to the EV industry? Seems like a boost to me.

I think it's neutral news for EVs, neither a blow nor a boost.

There will be multiple methods of automotive propulsion for a long time. And that's a good thing. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses. It's just automotive tech. No need for folks to get religious about it.

I get pushing back on the EV hype. But actively rooting for or against it seems a bit silly to me.

 

[mildone]

It seemed a lot faster then anything I've seen before, and those times back that up. 5:19 vs 6:40 is a blowout.

It really is a blowout. I mean, it's a very long track, so lap times are gonna be more widely differentiated than shorter tracks. But still, even a 10s lap time differential is pretty huge on such a track. The 919 is a pretty amazing bit of technology.

At some point, cars will reach the limits of adhesion and not be able to go faster around such a tricky track. OTOH, people were saying that back when cars first started hitting 7m times. So maybe, one day, a car will set off for a lap time around the 'ring and arrive sometime yesterday. 😀

 

[RU-05]

It really is a blowout. I mean, it's a very long track, so lap times are gonna be more widely differentiated than shorter tracks. But still, even a 10s lap time differential is pretty huge on such a track. The 919 is a pretty amazing bit of technology.

At some point, cars will reach the limits of adhesion and not be able to go faster around such a tricky track. OTOH, people were saying that back when cars first started hitting 7m times. So maybe, one day, a car will set off for a lap time around the 'ring and arrive sometime yesterday. 😀

And that was run back in 2018? Seems odd that such a gap in times is holding up that long.

 

[RU-05]

I think it's neutral news for EVs, neither a blow nor a boost.

There will be multiple methods of automotive propulsion for a long time. And that's a good thing. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses. It's just automotive tech. No need for folks to get religious about it.

I get pushing back on the EV hype. But actively rooting for or against it seems a bit silly to me.

The car is basically an EV. It just has a built in gas powered generator.

 

[mildone]

And that was run back in 2018? Seems odd that such a gap in times is holding up that long.

I guess the bean-counters in Stuttgart were convinced by the performance zealots in Zuffenhausen to spend an unreasonable amount of money on the 919. Every so often, the folks at Porsche do some crazy stuff, from a financial standpoint.

'Cause sometimes, you just have to say "what the fvck" and go for it. 😀

 

[RU-05]

I guess the bean-counters in Stuttgart were convinced by the performance zealots in Zuffenhausen to spend an unreasonable amount of money on the 919. Every so often, the folks at Porsche do some crazy stuff, from a financial standpoint.

'Cause sometimes, you just have to say "what the fvck" and go for it. 😀

What were the main performance drivers?

I'm not a car guy but also interested to see Mercedes at the top of the production/street legal list. (Driven by an Engel, same surname as my GF, who is the slow pokiest driver you ever saw).

 

[mildone]

What were the main performance drivers?

I'm not a car guy but also interested to see Mercedes at the top of the production/street legal list. (Driven by an Engel, same surname as my GF, who is the slow pokiest driver you ever saw).

Not sure what you mean by "main performance drivers"? Do you mean, what was Porsche's motivation building such an extreme car? In which case, like I said, now and then, they just do that. I can't say why.

I'd guess some combination of marketing, arrogance (Porsche is an extremely arrogant company, just like Ferrari and others of that caliber), pure childish delight at going fast, and competitiveness.