High-performance Porsche EV on way

Mission E to spawn red-hot racer for road says boss

THE boss of Porsche Motorsport has admitted to Auto Express that the firm will expand its range of race-focused production models, which currently comprises the 911 GT3 and Cayman GT4, to include an all-electric model in the future. The high-performance car is likely to arrive once a production version of the Mission E concept hits showrooms in 2020.

At the recent Los Angeles Motor Show, Dr Frank-steffen Walliser, Vice President of Motorsport, who is responsible for the firm’s Gt-badged production sports cars, told us: “For sure you have possibilities, and some things are really different.

“If I think of an electric car, the weight and torque on the tyres is a nightmare, but there are also opportunities. For us we have to make it a car with the character of a Porsche, even if it’s electric.”

The Mission E concept will be the first fully electric Porsche. It will have a 310-mile range and 600bhp via four-wheel drive, thanks to two electric motors on each axle. Porsche claims that the concept is capable of 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds, with 0-124mph taking 12.5 seconds.

Like other models in Porsche’s GT range, an electric version would be developed from an existing production car into something more powerful, focused and aggressive.

Although Walliser wouldn’t be drawn on specifics, the GT-E model will likely be a re-engineered Mission E, rather than an allnew model developed from the ground up.

“In my technical life I learned if you start a project and say no to this and that you end up with a bad solution,” he added. “You have to be open to everything that is around you to make the perfect package.”

The roll-out of these new Porsche EVS is part of a wider VW Group plan, which also includes Audi, VW, SEAT and Skoda, to have as many as 30 dedicated electric models across the group by 2025.

“Like other Porsche GTS, an electric version would be a development of an existing model”