Porsche vaults into new Mission
Concept luxury electric vehicle offers roster of groundbreaking tech to improve charging
Tesla has basically had the luxury vehicle segment to itself for the last decade. Certainly, for the last five years (six actually, since the Model S was introduced in 2012) it has been the dominant force — hell, the only force — in the upscale luxury electric sedan segment. The Silicon Valley upstart has eaten the established automakers’ lunch, literally embarrassing them with both its product and its ability to attract a fanatically loyal following in little time.
The traditional automakers have finally begun to fight back. Pretty much every quasi-luxury automaker from Volkswagen to MercedesBenz now has a luxury electric vehicle (EV) — more often, a lineup of luxury EVs — in development, each hoping to capture some of the magic Tesla has harnessed. First out of gate will be Jaguar with its I-Pace — which our managing editor Neil Vorano will test later this month — a mid-luxury SUV designed from the ground up to be an electric vehicle.
But perhaps the most excitement comes from Porsche and its Mission E. Yes, the company that brought you the Speedster, 911 and the gas-guzzling Cayenne is leading the traditional automakers’ charge into upscale EVs.
Why the excitement around the Porsche? Well, for one thing, there’s the nameplate, perhaps the most prestigious in the mainstream luxury segment. Then there’s the fact that the very first car that Ferdinand Porsche designed was an EV (actually a hybrid, but there was electrical power involved). And, most importantly, there’s the brand’s reputation for technological innovation, so important in this burgeoning electric market.
Driving was lucky enough to be the first Canadian media to sample the Mission E. It was a short drive, but here’s what we know so far:
The Mission E is more than a car, it’s a model line. Launched as a concept in 2015, the four-door coupe Mission E is already in development with Christopher Sachs, the project director, saying there are already about 100 prototypes running around ahead of its 2019 introduction.
What we drove was the Mission E Cross Turismo, a slightly elevated crossover loosely disguised as a concept. There will no doubt be a fully SUV, Cayenne-style sport brute to follow. Like I said, a full lineup.
While the headlines are all about the electric motors, the Mission E’s interior is just as revolutionary. Essentially, Porsche is doing away with all internal buttonry. Now, lots of manufacturers are heading in that direction, but the Mission E, when it hits showroom sometime late next year, will have but three buttons. All are in the steering wheel, all are rotary knobs and all three control functions — audio volume, a head-up display of the infotainment system’s function selection and the various driving modes — not easily accessed through the touchscreen.
Every thing else is, well, accessed by touchscreen or voice activated. One 10.9-inch touchscreen, the driver’s, will be standard. Another similarly sized version — for the passenger — will be optional. The entire gauge set is also an LCD screen. You better be prepared for the digital world because it’s here.
The Mission E is fast. Way fast. Porsche claims 600 PS (about 590 horsepower) from the Mission E’s twin permanently excited — no Viagra jokes, please! — synchronous electric motors, good enough, says Sachs, to accelerate the big EV to 100 km/h in under 3.5 seconds.
I can certainly vouch for its surprising performance, the Cross Turismo literally jumping with a stiff application of throttle. And since the car we drove was a concept car, it was at least 500 kilograms heavier than the production version will be, says Sachs.
In other words, future Porsche electric vehicles will be plenty healthy.