Electric sports cars are shockingly fast and emissions-free. But will loyalists buy them?

Sports car makers are facing resistance from die-hard enthusiasts.

It took years for car enthusiasts to accept that Porsche, maker of the famed 911 sports car, was joining the SUV frenzy. Now, the 90-year-old Stuttgart automaker has a new challenge to tackle: Getting Porscheophiles on board with its electrification plans. Porsche's future, like its sports car peers, may depend on it. Sales of the agile and incredibly fast Taycan sedan, Porsche's first electric vehicle, are off to a strong start. Deliveries worldwide totaled 9,072 in the first quarter of 2021, just shy of the 9,133 911s that were sold. In the U.S., Taycan sales hit 4,414 in 2020 and 2,008 in Q1. More than a third of customers are trading in competitor vehicles for a Taycan. The Taycan lineup has quickly expanded since its December 2019 debut; there's the newly released Taycan Cross Turismo, the brand’s first "Cross Utility Vehicle" (CUV) that closely resembles a station wagon. A less expensive and slightly less powerful Taycan model with rear-wheel-drive has since entered the market along with the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S -- two variants that are mind-blowing quick with 0-60 mph times of 3.0 seconds and 2.6 seconds when launch control is activated.