Lohner-Porsche Semper Vivus
This tall carriage carried its own tiny power station: petrol engines made electricity, and motors inside the front wheels moved the car.
Porsche Museum Semper Vivus reconstruction at Rétromobile 2020 · Yannick Leclercq · CC BY-SA 4.0
More than a set of wheels.
Ferdinand Porsche developed the Semper Vivus for Viennese coachbuilder Jacob Lohner & Co. when batteries were heavy, troublesome and difficult to recharge away from a depot. Instead of mechanically connecting a petrol engine to the wheels, he used two small engines to spin generators. Electricity then fed a battery and the motors in the front hubs. The working 1900 prototype became a landmark series hybrid; a refined Mixte followed in 1901.
Look a little closer.
Semper Vivus is Latin for 'always alive,' a name that suited a car able to make electricity while travelling.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
Why add petrol to an electric car?
Porsche's archive explains that weak charging infrastructure and unreliable batteries limited early electric cars. The Semper Vivus let combustion engines and generators act as an onboard charging unit, simultaneously feeding the wheel-hub motors and batteries; it could also travel on battery power alone until charging was needed.
Source: Porsche · Semper Vivus museum exhibition ↗A prototype, a production descendant and a replica
The 1900 Semper Vivus was the functional prototype. Porsche distinguishes it from the production-ready Lohner-Porsche Mixte launched in 1901 and from the faithful reconstruction unveiled by the Porsche Museum in 2011. Keeping those three identities separate avoids assigning later Mixte specifications or replica axle loads to the original car.
Source: Porsche · When was the first electric Porsche made? ↗Where these facts come from
- Porsche · Semper Vivus museum exhibition
- Porsche · 80 years of Porsche designs
- Porsche Newsroom · Pioneering Spirit Then and Now
- Porsche Newsroom · Electric wheel-hub motor from 1900
- Porsche · When was the first electric Porsche made?
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 1, 2026.