Porsche says no to autonomous vehicles

In an interview with Westfalen-Blatt, the company's recently installed leader poured cold water on the idea of self-driven Porsches. He described the concept as being "as alluring as a Rolex for boiling eggs", later declaring that "a Porsche is meant to be driven by humans".

The company, however, will not stand against the tides of progress. Blume says that the sports car maker needs to find "the right combination of usability and new technology".

While he believes that Porsche vehicles need to "connect meaningfully with the environment", the company thinks that "an iPhone belongs in your pocket, not on the street".

In terms of drivetrain technology, a plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation Porsche 911 is said to be in the works, and will reportedly have an EV range of around 50 kilometres.

More importantly, Porsche has already confirmed that it will make a production version of the all-electric Mission E sedan by 2020.

Blume describes the Mission E, or whatever it will be called, as a "thick exclamation point for the future of the brand", with Porsche investing around one billion euros ($1.5 billion) on the project.

The Mission E concept has 440kW all-wheel drive electric drivetrain, a driving range of over 500 kilometres, and a 0-100km/h time of under 3.5 seconds.

Equipped with a high-speed 800V recharging system, the car's batteries can be topped up to 80 percent of capacity within 15 minutes.

More: Porsche news.