Frank-Steffen Walliser is vice president complete vehicle architecture & characteristics for Porsche; which basically means he’s in charge of making sure the platforms and technology the brand uses for its cars are created and used in the right way to make those cars… feel like Porsches should.
Walliser is a self-proclaimed addict of “normally aspirated, high-revving engines and stick shift” (check his LinkedIn profile). But those aren’t the kinds of cars he needs to worry about. The biggest challenge for Walliser is of course, future electric vehicles. Electric Porsche sports cars especially.
Seems like the right guy for the job. He’s perhaps best known as the “father of the 918 Spyder”, project leader of the plug-in hypercar from 2010-14. The car that helped show the world electrification could be about enthusiast driving as much as thrift.
He also knows a thing or two about Porsche heritage and character: head of motorsport and GT vehicles (2014-18) and head of the 911 & 718 series (2019-22).
For Porschephiles looking to the future, Walliser is the go-to guy. And for those still wedded to the idea that automotive emotion can only be produced by explosions and oily bits, there is some bad news. Wallis says the number one thing that will bring soul to Porsches is… software.
Software is the next big thing… without it there is no car, no fun, nothing.
“Software is not [actually] the soul,” said Walliser in a media conference at the Porsche Rennsport Reunion 7 festival in October. “But it can define the soul. You can do that with software; it’s an enabler, it’s a tool.
“But in a more general view, for the auto industry, software is the next big thing… without software there is no car, no fun, nothing.”
In fact, the freedom and flexibility software brings is the perfect foil for the inconvenient truth of the electric age in motoring: that much of the same hardware will be shared across very different brands, bringing the grim possibility that (say) a Porsche might be very close to a Cupra.
“There is influence in sharing,” says Walliser. “Look at an electric motor and there are not big changes in characteristics whether it comes from Volkswagen, Audi or Porsche. Whether this is good or not, it’s all going towards efficiency, weight reduction and sheer volume.
Software has a huge impact on how a car feels. You have to take care with this and find a way to bring in Porsche soul.
“On one hand it gives you freedom because you don’t have to care about these things, they will be the same. On the other hand, it’s a real task for us for us to make something out of these components.
“Software has a huge impact on how a car feels. You have to take care with this and find a way to bring in Porsche functionality, Porsche driving, Porsche soul in this environment.
“Believe me, we are talking a lot about how this will work. This is more difficult than all the other stuff.
“There is a huge race and battle between China, Europe and the US with software,” says Walliser. “How to find the right tools and development chains.
“What we have to achieve is the physical understanding of the car, driving dynamics, classic Porsche strengths. The difficulty for us is not looking too much to the past, but also not being over-modern. You have to stay unique; you have to protect the brand.”
This has been a big year for Walliser. He celebrates 25 years with Porsche, but 2023 also marks 10 years since the launch of the groundbreaking 918 Spyder – the machine that started the company on the path to electric sports cars.
“When we started the project, we always thought hybrid would be a bridging technology. Many said 10 years, but a colleague and I thought it would be more like 20. We have a clear path now and I think 20 years is right.”
Walliser, who says he drives a 918 every year as a refresher, says he’s often asked what he would change on the car today if he could: “Only minor things, maybe give it new headlights; but just minor details.
“It really changed how we looked at hybrid technology because all of a sudden it was performance and sporty. These days I drive even more powerful cars, like electric vehicles, but the 918 still feels correct.”