satanboy
Psychonaut seven
Porsche is plugging in: the Porsche Mission E, the all-electric four-door sports car concept that caused such a stir at the 2015 Frankfurt motor show, has been given the green light for production.
Porsche’s supervisory board has given the go-ahead for a full production version of the Mission E to be launched ‘by the end of the decade.’ It’ll be the first official fully electric Porsche – and it’s unlikely to be the last. ‘With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand,’ says Porsche board chairman Dr. Wolfgang Porsche. ‘Even in a greatly changing motoring world, Porsche will maintain its front-row position with this fascinating sports car.’
The Mission E production project is expected to create more than 1000 new jobs at Porsche’s Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen base. Around 700m Euros are being invested in the site, with a new assembly plant on the way and the engine factory being expanded for the production of electric motors. In the wake of the ongoing emissions scandal rocking Porsche’s parent company VW, electric drivetrain technology is being fast-tracked throughout the Volkswagen empire.
Mission E concept debut at the 2015 Frankfurt motor show
If the original 600bhp, 800-volt Mission E concept is anything to go by, the production car should be worth waiting for.
The Mission E concept is a four-door sports car - a bit like a squashed Panamera, but with a stealthy swagger that turns heads. Especially in its matt white paint job with white and black alloys and neat detailing such as a full-width LED lighting bar for rear lights. And those rear doors are suicide hatches, revealing a 2+2 cabin. But don't go mistaking this for a 911 (despite that echo in the rear window line)... this is an entirely new kind of Porsche, one to challenge Tesla and other EV upstarts. What's more, Porsche claims it'll lap the Nurburgring in less than eight minutes.
How quick is the Porsche Mission E?
Porsche claims the Mission E will pass 62mph in 'less than 3.5 seconds', dashing past 124mph in just a dozen seconds. Top speed meanwhile will be 'more than 155mph'. The dual-motor layout delivers four-wheel drive and the 911's four-wheel steering features for agility that would surprise most four-seaters. The batteries are mounted as low as possible within the composite construction for a ground-hugging centre of gravity.
Time to recharge? Less than quarter of an hour for 80% charge with a new type of rapid-charge, claims Porsche. Then-Porsche chief (and now VW boss) Matthias Mueller referred to refuelling as being like 'fast pit stops,' a reference to the Le Mans 919 hybrid sports car's experience at La Sarthe where Porsche won in 2015. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to develop this car so quickly without the 919,’ he added.
Take a peek inside the Porsche Mission E, too: there are clever new holograms for certain instrument functions - and you control them using 2015's most popular new trend, gesture control. No news yet as to whether this future-gazing tech will make production...
Electrification: a big trend at Frankfurt (again)
From the very start, the Mission E was expected to enter production. Porsche is keen to cement its reputation as the technical tour de force in VW's performance division. There's no better way to put Tesla back in its box, you sense. 'We will build a purely electric sports car,' Mueller confirmed at Frankfurt.
Volkswagen has pledged the group will launch 20 more electric or plug-in hybrid models by the end of the decade. And with cars like the Mission E queuing up in the launch bay, who are we to argue?
carmagazine
