Porsche’s EV wireless charger checks for your cat before juicing your Cayenne

When the all-electric new Porsche Cayenne arrives next year, you’ll be able to charge it without ever going to the trouble of popping the charging flap open and plugging it in. That is, if you’re prepared to spend an extra £7,000 or so on the sort of wireless charging mat you might have on your bedside table to charge your smartphone.

The ‘floor plate’ is air-cooled (like a 964, Porsche fans!) and can charge the car at up to 11kW. Now, the UK’s single-phase domestic power grid means most home charging wallboxes are stuck puttering along at 7.4kW, but Porsche says it will offer different versions of the floor plate in the US, UK and Europe to best utilise each territory’s electric infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the charging plate in the car itself is fixed above the underbody shielding so there’s no reduction in ground clearance. Porsche says the car will charge over an air gap of between 11 and 16cm, at up to 90% efficiency.

So, the awkward questions. What happens if you run the plate over because you’re terrible at parking? Well, Porsche insists it’s tough enough not to snap under the mighty weight of a battery-equipped Cayenne. What if the weather is, um, British? It’s fully waterproof and grime-resistant.

What if your cat is sleeping on the mat? Will it be fried by the wireless charging magnetic field? Again, the engineers insist they’ve thought of that. The proximity sensor does 20 seconds of pre-flight checks before activating the charge, detecting any metal objects or organic matter. So it’s safe.

Porsche’s got high hopes for this tech because its data from Taycan and Macan owners is that 75 per cent of all charges are done at home. And with one of these plopped on your driveway or more likely in your garage, charging is slicker and easier. Maybe even faster. There’s even a parking guide built into the screens that guide you onto the charging mat with perfect charge-friendly positioning.

All very clever and foolproof. But not cheap. Final pricing is TBC, but Porsche hinted to TopGear.com that the 50kg charging floor plate will be around €4,300 plus taxes, while the charging plate within the car is sold separately for around €1,500 plus taxes.

The reason they’re sold apart is so you can buy a few – perhaps one for your main home, one for the office, and one for the holiday chalet. These are pricey accessories for wealthy people. And if you’re the second owner of your Cayenne Electric and the previous buyer didn’t spec the system, Porsche says it can be retro-fitted to your car, and all other future Porsche EVs. But existing Taycans and Macans are not compatible.

It's iPhone Lightning vs USB-C all over again…