Porsche might be planning a new series of electric bikes, with slightly more affordable price tags than its current line. The German carmaker has just bought a majority share in premium e-bike builder Greyp (pronounced 'grape'), suggesting a new lineup of premium two-wheelers might be on the way.
Porsche debuted its first pair of electric bikes in March this year. The eBike Sport is a slick road bike priced at the princely sum of £9,600 (about $13,000 / AU$17,000), while the multi-terrain eBike Cross launched at £7,650 (about $10,000 / AU$14,000).
They were two of the most expensive e-bikes around at the time. For context, our current top-rated electric bike, the Cowboy 4, is available to pre-order for $2,490 / £2,290 (with shipping expected to begin in early 2022).
Riders aren't just paying for the Porsche badge, though; both bikes are also impressive examples of engineering. The Sport has a lightweight carbon fiber frame and extra-large disc brakes for fast stopping in city traffic.
The Cross keeps the carbon fiber, but adds reinforcements to help it survive off-road knocks, and offers front fork suspension to soak up bigger bumps.
Online, on the road
Greyp and Rimac share a lot of DNA. Greyp is the e-bike arm of Croatian luxury carmaker Rimac Automobili, which specializes in electric sportscars, and CEO Mate Rimac says that Porche will be bringing a lot of its research and development expertise to the partnership. That could result in some of the most advanced e-bikes we've seen to date.
Greyp specializes in 'always connected' bikes, each of which has an integrated eSIM, allowing it to transmit and receive data (such as maps) without a Bluetooth connection to your phone. This also means you can send text messages, and even lock it down remotely if it's being stolen.
There are also lots of additional flourishes that are tailored to each of its ranges. Greyp's eSUV and eMTB off-road bikes are equipped with integrated action cameras so there's no need to invest in a GoPro to capture your ride, while the eHyper bikes have powerful motors and high capacity batteries allowing them to hit speeds of up to 70km/h (43mph).
That's impressive stuff already, and according to a statement from Greyp and Rimac, the new partnership with Porsche will "aim to significantly increase Greyp's operations, particularly in R&D".
The deal should be finalized by December 18, and could result in some of the most advanced e-bikes around. Greyp has a new bike called the eCity due for release in 2023, and it's possible that this may be the first fruit of the Porsche partnership. We'll keep you updated as soon as we know more.
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