Porsche to Take to the Water with Electric Speedboat Priced at $655,000

Porsche AG, the German automaker, has shifted its focus to boats after facing obstacles in its attempt to join Formula One. On June 23, the company revealed its plans to collaborate with Austrian shipbuilder Frauscher in the development of an electric speedboat.

Due in 2024, the Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air is an 8.7 meter (28.4 ft) day cruiser based on the Frauscher 858 Fantom Air. Studio F.A. Porsche will design the helm rack and furnish the interior, including the seats and upholstery, while the boat will share its driving technology with the upcoming electric Porsche Macan. It will be built at the Frauscher shipyard in Ohlsdorf, Austria.

The vessel is not Porsche’s first exploration of watercraft. In 2008, Porsche Design, the studio and brand founded in 1972 by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, released the Porsche Fearless 28, a speedboat reminiscent of the Porsche Carrera GT supercar. It featured the same V-10 engine used in the Dodge Viper. (The design studio became a subsidiary of Porsche AG in 2003, and was officially named Studio F.A. Porsche in 2015.) The Volkswagen Group’s most profitable brand has also promoted a 22-foot boat by Seven Seas Yachts called the Hermes Speedster, which is modeled after a vintage Porsche 356 . The company is currently investigating additional applications of its power transmission in other boat sizes.

Car brands from Aston Martin and Bugatti to Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati have also cooperated in maritime craftwork. Henrik Fisker, who developed the Fisker Karma EV, designed a $37 million superyacht with Benet in 2016. Last year, Lamborghini created a $3.5 million yacht with Technomar. The partnerships largely focused on combining aesthetics and branding.

Porsche promises something different: a boat using electric technology designed for road vehicles. The Porsche Fantom Air, which is limited to 25, uses the same electric platform – what Porsche calls the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) – as the Macan EV that goes on sale in 2024; which includes a lithium-ion battery with a total capacity of about 100 kilowatt-hours, an electric motor and other similar power electronics associated with 800-volt technology. The Macan is Porsche North America’s most popular vehicle, with 23,688 units sold last year, or 33% of total sales.

The boat can accommodate nine people, who can enjoy a swimming platform, sun lounger, premium sound system and refrigerator while on board. Like the upcoming Macan EV, owners of the Frauscher x Porsche 850 Fantom Air can charge it using DC fast charging stations or AC charging.

Porsche declined to elaborate on performance, including cruising range and charge duration. Maximum power and speed are also looming question marks, as most electric boats today are relatively heavy and only suitable for occasional cruising. For example, the Duffy 18 Snug Harbor has a top speed of 6 miles per hour. The 2017 Hinckley Dasher used twin 80 horsepower motors powered by 40 kWh BMW i3 lithium-ion batteries; it has a range of about 40 miles (35 nautical miles) at a cruising speed of 7 knots (8 mph).

Still, it’s a lucrative market for electric boats that emulate the “Tesla” of watercraft. The Arc One, announced in 2022, has a 220 kWh battery, which is almost three times the capacity of the Tesla Model Y. It lasts three to five hours on a single charge. A company called X Shore AB is raising funds to produce a zero-emission boat by 2030.

Powerful luxury electric boats are rarer: the 38-foot Electric Cigarette in 2013 used 12 Mercedes-AMG electric motors to produce 2,251 horsepower and 2,213 pound-feet of torque. It was a singular concept. By comparison, the original 858 Fantom Air’s V-8 engine has 430 cv (423 horsepower) and a cruising speed approaching 45 knots.

A Porsche spokesman says the automaker’s boat is likely to cost around 600,000 euros ($655,000). The Frauscher 858 Fantom Air, on which it is based, starts at $250,000 new and costs around $300,000 on the used market. According to the spokesperson, more information and pictures will be available in September. Although Porsche is accepting orders, the boat is not yet sold out.