We are moving forward towards the future that the sci-fi writers had always imagined. We are exploring the moon and walking on Mars. And on Earth, this is time to start riding the flying cars. From Uber to SeaBubble, many companies have shown their interest in flying cars-taxis and are already working on that. And after these companies, now it is Boeing’s turn to actually bring one, and for that, the company has partnered with the top luxury car brand, Porsche.
The two companies
have signed an MoU, under which they together will be working to help
reduce the traffic on the road and move it to the airspace, with
their new concept for the “premium” eVTOL (electric vertical
take-off and landing) air cars.
“Porsche is looking to enhance its scope as a sports car manufacturer by becoming a leading brand for premium mobility. In the longer term, this could mean moving into the third dimension of travel. We are combining the strengths of two leading global companies to address a potential key market segment of the future,” said Detlev von Platen, member of the executive board for sales and marketing at Porsche AG, Germany.
Image source: TechCrunch
The two companies
will be working on designing a new aircraft, that will also include
its development and the testing. The companies will also be
researching the urban air-mobility market for highly populated cities
and metropolises.
Even Boeing has already started working on its flying cars and did conduct an inaugural test flight of an aerial car prototype early this year. For now, the companies are looking forward to bring flying cars that would be used for ride-sharing that would contribute to reducing the traffic as well as pollution for the big cities.
The companies will be assembling an international team with the experience and skills in the same field. The team will be analysing the scope and the viability of the electric flying cars in the coming future. Porsche has already been working and researching in the same field for quite some time now, and according to its researches, we can expect the eVTOL market to be active as soon as 2025. The companies like Uber are already up to building flying taxis, so by 2025, we may also see the Porsche air-taxis flying over us.
Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.
Being born into a family of a
plumbing business, Ferdinand Porsche was also expected to adopt the
same profession. But, his interest resided somewhere else. He was
intrigued by electricity, designing and machinery. He carved a deep
niche for mechanical work, and his passion changed his life entirely.
He started from serving as a chauffeur to be known as the Great
German Engineer.
A Sneak Peek to Porsche’s Life
Porsche was born into a German family on 3 September 1865, in Liberec (now a part of the Czech Republic). He was an automotive engineer and probably the best of his time. Before he founded his own company, he worked for many influential people designing the Lohner-Porsche, Volkswagen-Beetle and many other intimidating cars. He also received the Car Engineer of the Century award in 1999, 48 years after he passed away. He played a major role in World War II and was a member of the Nazi Party.
Early Life and Career
Porsche was the third child in his family, and his father, Anton Porsche ran a plumbing business. Though he grew a very strong interest in the mechanical aspect of engineering, he didn’t devote his entire time into experimenting with different equipment. He helped his father out in the workshop during the daytime and went to Imperial Technical School during the nights. After he finished his school and by the time he was 18, he got a job in Bela Egger and Co., an electrical company in Vienna. During his time in this company, he built his first electric hub motor.
Image Source: automotivehalloffame.org
In 1897, he started working for Jacob Lohner and Co. in their newly established Electric Car Company. The first design of the company was Egger-Lohner vehicle or Porsche P1, a carriage-like car. In 1900, the modified version of this vehicle (from two wheels to four wheels) was displayed in the Paris World Exhibition, and this masterpiece received much appreciation. In 1901, Porsche designed Lohner-Porsche, the first model of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). Porsche also upgraded his existing vehicles with many engines from Daimler and Panhard, breaking many speed records.
In 1905, he was awarded the Potting
prize for being Austria’s most outstanding automotive engineer. By
this time, he gradually got involved in the military services served
as a chauffeur to the then crowned prince of Austria.
Working for the Major Automobile Companies
In 1906, Porsche was hired by Austro
Daimler as the chief designer. In 1910, Daimler won the
Prinz-Heinrich Fahrt, an automobile contest. The Austro-Daimler car
for which they won the contest was solely designed by Porsche. He
also designed many race cars, aircraft engines, trolley-buses and
many other vehicles using HEV technology during his time at
Austro-Daimler. In 1916, Porsche became the Managing Director, and in
the same year, he received the honorary doctorate from Vienna
University of Technology. In 1923, he left the company due to
differences in future perception of the company’s development.
Soon after he left Austro-Daimler,
he was hired as a Technical Director in Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft.
For his excellent work in this company, he received another honorary
doctorate from Stuttgart Technical University. Again in 1929, Porsche
left the merged company, Daimler-Benz, as his ideas for developing a
light-weight Mercedes Benz was not accepted by the company’s board.
He started working for another
company, but due to the Great Depression, his engineering skills had
become almost needless to the world.
Founding Porsche
Though the economic condition dried
up during the 1930s, Porsche made his way to establishing his own
company. In April 1931, Porsche built his own consulting firm (for
vehicles and engines) in Stuttgart with the financial support of
Anton Piech and Adolf Rosenberger.
He started taking up big projects
from reputed companies, but he also worked on his own designs. He
managed to impress some companies that could sponsor his own
projects, but eventually, all of them lost interest due to some of
the other reasons. Also, the economic condition of that period wasn’t
in favour of any newly born business.
In the early 1930s, Hitler wanted
every citizen of his nation to own a car, which led to the hiring of
Porsche for this project, the people’s car (Volkswagen). Soon, he
got involved in many other Nazi projects. The first two prototypes of
Volkswagen were released by 1935, and by the next three-four years, a
lot of redesigning and pre-production took place.
In the meantime, a lawsuit was filed
against Porsche by a Czech company, claiming breach of the company’s
patent. The matter was finally resolved in 1961, ten years after
Porsche’s death.
Life after World War II
The company went through a severe
loss during the war, but he was ordered to continue with the
Volkswagen designs. But, before the project could restart, he was
captured by French authorities as a war criminal.
Ferry Porsche, Porsche’s son tried to run the business while he was in prison. He was finally got released on 5th August 1947, and in the meantime, Ferry designed Porsche 356, the first car to have the family name. Ferry rebuilt the business once again and made huge profits.
While the entire family returned to
Stuttgart to re-establish their business, Porsche died in 30th
January 1951 due to a stroke.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more
The luxury vehicle producers, Porsche, announced on Tuesday that it is going to transform it’s best selling Macan SUV, into all electric. The company has recently started working on its first electric vehicles, the Taycan and Cross Tourismo, and the electric Macan SUV will be another addition to its electric vehicle lineup.
The
company has revealed that the production of the electric Macan SUV
will start anytime at the start of the coming decade, and the company
is already set to launch its Taycan sedan by the end of this year,
and the launch of the Taycan Cross Turismo will follow shortly
afterwards, which is also the final production version of the Mission
E concept of the company.
Like Porsche’s electric vehicle Taycan, the Macan compact SUV will also feature 800-volt architecture and will be capable of taking charge up to 350 kW. The company has not given any statement on the total distance it would be able to cover when fully charged, but we can get a good idea of its mile range from the Taycan model, which will have a range of 250 miles, after charging in fewer than 20 minutes.
The company has said that the Macan compact will be based on the PPE architecture, and for that Porsche has collaborated with the Audi AG. The company plans to turn most of its vehicles into electric or hybrid models, like its contemporary Tesla, and according to the company, 50 per cent of all new Porsche vehicles may have an electric drive system, by the year 2025.
“Our
aim is to take a pioneering role in technology, and for this reason,
we will continue to consistently align the company with the mobility
of the future,” Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement.
Porsche is known for its luxury and sports vehicles, and Macan compact crossover is the best-selling vehicle of the company, having been sold 23,500 Macan SUVs in 2018, in the U.S. only. Porsche has plans to invest over $6.9 billion on EVs manufacturing through 2022. The company will manufacture all its electric vehicles at the company’s existing plant in Leipzig, Germany.
Yashica is a Software Engineer turned Content Writer, who loves to write on social causes and expertise in writing technical stuff. She loves to watch movies and explore new places. She believes that you need to live once before you die. So experimenting with her life and career choices, she is trying to live her life to the fullest.
