From News Desk

Porsche AG, Porsche Engineering, Studio FA Porsche; and boat-building company Frauscher have jointly developed the 850 Fantom Air—a sports boat with an electric powertrain that is based on standard components of the Porsche Macan Turbo. The project shows how Porsche Engineering is transferring automotive expertise to other sectors in order to establish innovative powertrain systems there as well.

At a glance

1. Porsche Engineering, Porsche AG, and the Austrian boat manufacturer Frauscher have jointly developed the 850 Fantom Air.
2. The eBoat has a powertrain that essentially uses standard components of the Porsche Macan.
3. They have been adapted to the requirements of the marine sector.
   

The bow rises out of the water and the boat accelerates to its maximum speed of more than 85 km/h within a few seconds. The powertrain is not only powerful, but also barely audible. Frauscher, co-owner and Managing Director of the Austrian boatyard of the same name, is more than satisfied with the result of the maiden voyage on the local lake, Traunsee. It took less than a year for the development team from Porsche Engineering, Porsche AG and Frauscher to jointly develop the 850 Fantom Air from the design stage to the first prototype.

Porsche AG took the lead in the project; and Philip Ruckert was appointed E-Boat Project Manager by the Executive Board of Porsche AG. The technical foundation was laid together with Porsche Engineering. A short time later, the decision was made to integrate the project into the Macan model series and bring it to series production. Porsche Engineering was responsible for the technical implementation of the project content. “Only through close and trust-based cooperation with the individual specialist departments of Porsche AG have we succeeded, in just two years, in implementing a development that is ready for series production,” explains Thomas Warbeck, Specialist Project Manager at Porsche Engineering.

The special feature of the 850 Fantom Air is hidden in the hull – Instead of the usual petrol or diesel engine, this boat has a powerful electric powertrain. As in an all-electric vehicle, the powertrain delivers high torque from a standstill and at the same time makes the boat extremely quiet. The main components of the 800-volt powertrain—including the battery and drive module—originate from the rear-axle drive of the Macan Turbo. The passenger car components have been specifically adapted for marine use, as each sector has individual requirements that must be met by specific solutions. “In the automotive sector, we have built up in-depth know-how in technologically state-of-the-art developments. We use this as a basis to analyse the requirements for the vehicle and compare them with the specifications for the new target application. This shows us the changes needed to the system integration for both components and software, and we implement these changes on the development side,” says Warbeck.

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