While Porsche has been pivoting back from its all-electric plans thanks to people still wanting combustion engines, don’t take this to mean its electric car offensive is paused. A new electric Cayenne is on its way to sit alongside the combustion model, and in addition to bonkers output and active aero, it’ll be available with a whole new way to charge.
While we’ve seen wireless EV charging demonstrated as a working prototype before, no automaker has been brave enough to take the plunge and offer it on a production car until now. It works on induction, much like a wireless smartphone charger, except it’s capable of supplying 11 kW of power, the same as many traditional Level 2 charging stations.
Here’s how the process works from a driver’s perspective: You drive a suitably prepared electric Cayenne over the charging pad, it detects the presence of the wireless charger, automatically dumps itself on its air suspension, and charging starts. It’s a promise of no uncoiling cables, and no banging fists on frozen charging doors, although part of me does wonder how easy it actually is to center a Cayenne’s receiver over the charging pad. Sure, there’s a mode in the parking camera system to help you guide the new electric Cayenne over the charger, but I’d definitely want to try it out in person.
Now I know what you’re thinking: Aren’t there some obvious potential pitfalls of leaving a high-power wireless charger out and then hovering a vehicle a few inches above it to charge? Well, Porsche claims to have solved them. The wireless charger will automatically switch off if it detects metal or an animal between the charger and the car, so you won’t come out to your garage and be greeted by the smell of crispy rodent. The receiver on the bottom of the Cayenne and the pad itself are both weatherproof and resistant to light impacts, so you can send your electric Cayenne through the snow or drive your weekend car over the charging pad and everything should be just fine.
Downsides? Well, the charging pad is fairly heavy, clocking in at 110 pounds. Also, if you mount the weatherproof pad outside, you probably don’t want to hit it with the snowblower. It can be driven over, but I have a feeling that blade damage is something else entirely. There’s also no word yet on cost, and while I’d imagine the wireless charging pad will likely be more expensive than a conventional Level 2 wallbox, how much more expensive will dictate how well this technology catches on.
Still, if wireless EV charging does catch on and more manufacturers start to offer it, this could be a way of solving the issue of too-short cables at Level 2 stations in the future, such as when you pull up to a street-side station in a vehicle with a charging port that isn’t on the curb side.
Top graphic image: Porsche
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The post You’ll Be Able To Charge An Electric Porsche Cayenne Without Plugging It In appeared first on The Autopian.
