Porsche has decided that a battery upgrade is in order for some of its high performance vehicles and this upgrade consists of lithium-ion.
The company will begin offering an optional lithium-ion replacement starter battery in a measure to reduce weight over the standard lead acid battery. The benefits are limited strictly to weight savings, but the trade-offs are immediately apparent.
The optional lithium-ion battery saves about 22 pounds of weight over the traditional lead acid setup. This optional piece of equipment comes in at 1,904 euros which translates to roughly $2,850. This pricey option can be retrofitted to existing Porsches models at a cost of $3,740. The li-ion setup will be available for 3 Porsche models including the GT3, GT3 RS and Boxster Spyder.
The batteries reduced weight could result in about a .5% increase in fuel economy, when the li-ion setup is in use. However, the li-ion battery does not operate properly at temperatures below freezing which forces Porsche to ship models to cold regions with both the li-ion and the lead acid setup, forcing owners to change out the battery when temperatures begin to drop.
Snow tires on, lead acid battery in, now your Porsche is ready to tackle the winter months.
Source: Edmunds.com
