The problem with range-extended EVs is that the gas engine is set up to run like a generator. That means it’ll sound like a generator, droning on forever. CarBuzz has just found a new patent from Porsche that would make the system sound more like a regular car when you’re driving.
In fact, it could make an EREV feel like a sports car, not a Prius, and that could be crucial for the brand.
Green Driving Without The Penalty
The number of extended-range EVs on the market in the US can be counted on one hand, but the basic idea of all of them is the same. An engine runs on demand to supply electricity for the battery. In most situations, the engine will run at one specific RPM. It’s chosen for optimal efficiency and electricity production, because that’s the point of an EREV.
But when you run an engine at one speed, the sound turns into a drone. If you’ve spent much time at heavy throttle in a car with a CVT, you’ve probably already experienced this. Even a Porsche engine can quickly become annoying, then infuriating if it spends long enough at just one speed.
So Porsche engineers have come up with what they’re calling an emulation mode. It’s a way to run the engine more like a conventional vehicle than an EREV.
The engine still won’t power the wheels directly, but it will respond to your speed. As you accelerate, the engine will rev up. It will drop revs to simulate gear shifts, even though there’s no transmission. Even as it bangs into the redline, the only direct effect on performance would be a change in how much electricity is generated at the different engine speeds.
Could Porsche Let You Shift Your EREV?
2027 Porsche Taycan steering wheelPorsche
However, Porsche would extend the effect beyond the engine. The patent suggests changing motor torque to make the car feel like it’s actually shifting gears, simulating a six- or seven-speed transmission. But the trick can go far beyond even that.
In the patent, Porsche’s team describes using active engine mounts. The mounts would work to cancel out vibrations in normal operation, but in the emulation mode they could actually amplify vibration and noise. This would make it feel more like a traditional Porsche.
To really hammer home the effect, the vehicle would have a switchable exhaust. In emulation mode, the exhaust would be louder to show off the gas engine and what it is doing. The rest of the time, it would be as quiet as possible to make the EREV feel more like an EV.
Porsche describes using this system with a three- or four-cylinder engine, and preferably that engine would be turbocharged. Porsche also said that it could be a boxer engine, though that layout wouldn’t work with a three-cylinder. It’s also not limited to boxers, so it could be used in the brand’s SUVs, not just a 911 or similar.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Porsche Macan GTS ElectricPorsche
An EREV sounds like a great idea until you’re doing some spirited driving and the engine drones on the whole time without a change. Then it’s going to be miserable. This idea fixes that, giving you maximum efficiency most of the time, but injecting some familiar performance-car atmosphere when you want it.
Combine that with another Porsche patent that covers giving electric vehicles virtual shifts with an electronic gearshift, similar to what Hyundai is doing with its N models, and the future of mainstream Porsches suddenly looks pretty good. Yes, it’s still faking the operation of a traditional internal-combustion car. But at least the noise is real.
Patent filings do not guarantee the use of such technology in future vehicles and are often used exclusively as a means of protecting intellectual property. Such a filing cannot be construed as confirmation of production intent.
Source: DPMA
