Real drivers wanted: Porsche to shun autonomous driving tech

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume has spoken to a German newspaper about his disdain of the autonomous driving aids that other car-makers are rushing to develop.

Speaking to Westfalen-Blatt newspaper, Blume said: “An iPhone belongs in your pocket, not on the road”.

Going on to add that Porsche had no intention of teaming up with big technology companies like Google to develop autonomous driving aids, Blume said his car-maker would instead focus on offering hybrid versions of all its models in the range.

Blume told the newspaper that a plug-in hybrid version of the Porsche 911 will go on sale by 2018 -- earlier than previously indicated by Porsche -- offering an electric-only range of at least 50km.

In December, Porsche announced it would invest more than a billion euros, and upgrade its Stuttgart manufacturing facility near Stuttgart in preparation of, its first ever pure-electric sports car, based on the Mission E sedan concept.

Green-lit for production, the pure-electric Tesla fighter will hit 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds and travel 500km between charges.

Thanks to a new 800-volt super-quick charger developed by Porsche, the futuristic sports car can be charged, from flat, to 80 per cent in just 15 minutes.