Porsche blends physical and digital testing for upcoming Cayenne Electric

Porsche has been utilising digital testing measures to help develop its upcoming Cayenne Electric.

Having gone beyond the ‘construction’ stage of testing, Porsche has switched to replacing much of its 120-strong test fleet with ‘digital equivalents’. As a result, engineers send virtual prototypes out on digital test drives. Porsche says that it can take its cars on a variety of digital routes, ranging from urban scenarios to the famous Nurburgring to see how vehicles react to different settings.

A new ‘composite test bench’ has also been created for the new Cayenne Electric, which allows the firm to test the car’s drivetrain, battery, energy management and charging systems to be tested within ‘realistic conditions’.

Porsche says that it has also put the Cayenne through ‘climatic extremes’ – experiencing up to 50 degrees celsius in America’s Death Valley and minus 35 degrees celsius in the Scandinavian winter – to ensure that it can always be charged at its maximum speed no matter the conditions.

Despite the use of digital testing, Porsche also says that ‘final tuning is still done by humans’ with Sascha Niesen, team leader for vehicle testing at the Porsche Development Centre in Weissach adding that ‘in reality, only humans can perform the finishing touches.’

The new Cayenne Electric is expected to be revealed next year, where it will join the electric Macan and Taycan in Porsche’s range of electric vehicles.