Porsche unveils some ridiculously expensive electric bikes

Porsche is the latest carmaker trying its hand at making and selling electric bikes, and the result looks very interesting and expensive. The Volkswagen company has announced that it will sell some full-fledged e-bikes this spring. The bikes were announced along with the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, which was just launched today.

There are two models of the Porsche e-bike, the Sport and the Cross. The Sport is a road bike intended for everyday use, with a carbon fiber frame with full suspension, integrated headlights and taillights, Shimano midsize car and a price that will make Jeff Bezos blush. The Sport, which weighs a little less than 48 pounds, will give you back about $ 10,700, which is just an astonishing price for an e-bike.

But then carbon fiber frame bikes are traditionally more expensive than other bikes, and the Porsche badge on the head tube is worth a premium for a certain average of cyclists. (I am often reminded of how much money serious racing bike enthusiasts will spend, not only on the bike itself, but also on all the equipment that comes with it.)

The Cross is more for off-road racing, says Porsche. It also features a Shimano center frame, carbon fiber frame and full suspension, in addition to Magura-MT Trail hydraulic disc brakes which are extra large and ‘heat resistant’. It weighs 48.7 pounds and will sell for $ 8,549.

The Shimano EP8 engine found in both bikes is smaller than previous versions – Porsche describes it as ‘ultra-compact’ and offers up to 25 km / h of pedal-assisted support. (Seems slow, but this is the legal top speed allowed under European Union regulations.)

Porsche is the latest company specializing in vehicles with internal combustion engines that set a tone in the world of electric two-wheelers. Apart from the price, there is some reason to be skeptical. Often, when you hear that car companies mostly release their own electric bikes, it’s just a trademark license agreement. (Think of Jeep’s e-bike or those Hummer bikes of the past decade.) Other times, it’s a much-hyped project that will eventually fall victim to greater savings in the business world, like General Motors’ Ariv e-bikes.

But every now and then something interesting comes to mind, like Harley-Davidson’s recently released Serial 1 e-bikes. Porsche’s bikes will certainly find an audience among the same people who like the 911 or Taycan, but it remains to be seen if this will be a long-term business for the carmaker. Both bikes will be on sale from the spring of 2021.