Porsche considers adding fake gearshift to EV models

According to the portal The Drive, Porsche reportedly informed dealer managers about the upcoming change during a conference in Atlanta in November. Sales teams are to be prepared for the launch of new electric models featuring a ‘virtual gearbox’ in the second half of 2026, with August specifically mentioned as the start of order intake.

Porsche declined to comment when approached by The Drive, but did not strongly deny the information. Indications that the Stuttgart-based manufacturer is developing such a system have emerged in recent weeks. In November, Frank Moser, Head of Series for Porsche’s two-door models, the 718 and 911, shared his experiences in an interview about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and its ‘Virtual Gear Shift’ system.

“It was eye-opening,” Moser told The Drive. “I remember I drove it with Andy (Andreas) Preuninger, he’s my Mr GT [Project Manager, GT Vehicles]. I said to him, ‘Come on, I’m going to pick you up in the Ioniq 5 N’. He said, ‘Leave me alone, I don’t want any of that electric stuff. ’ We entered the car and I pressed the button [N Grin Boost], and he was ‘Wow’. They did something which was impressive.”

However, Moser also emphasised that he believes every driver should be able to decide for themselves when to use these sporty features and when to drive silently without gearshift jolts. The Drive, therefore, assumes that the function can be switched on and off. Porsche has already incorporated artificial engine sounds in the electric Cayenne. Based on Moser’s statements, the debut of such systems at Porsche was initially expected with the electric 718, but the next model year of the Taycan is now likely to take precedence internally at Porsche.

Despite these being virtual gear shifts, the feature is expected to be available only in new Taycan models and not rolled out to existing vehicles via a software update. While there are no hardware changes to the powertrain, the steering wheel will require modification: the current Taycan lacks the paddle shifters needed to trigger the virtual gear shifts. At Hyundai, these are always included, primarily to adjust the strength of recuperation.

thedrive.com, drive.com.au (Moser’s statements)

This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.