New Porsche Mission E spotted
THE PORSCHE MISSION E will retain the sleek, futuristic shape of the concept it is inspired by, as shown by a development car seen wearing near-production-ready bodywork for the first time.
The car was photographed outside Porsche’s development centre in Weissach, Germany, sporting fake exhaust tailpipes fitted to conceal its identity.
A future Tesla Model S rival, the Mission E sits on one of three new electric car platforms being developed within Porsche’s Volkswagen Group parent company. This J1 structure is described as being different in construction to the C-BEV platform due to underpin Audi’s forthcoming E-tron quattro SUV concept.
Porsche boss Oliver Blume said: “The J1 has a low floor, while the C-BEV is constructed differently with a higher floor that suits an SUV.”
Despite the differences in the Mission E and E-tron’s construction, Blume also confirmed that production versions will feature similar lithium ion battery technology.
The Mission E’s battery pack is capable of providing the car with a range of more than 330 miles. In combination with two electric motors, the sleek fourdoor promises 590bhp and a 0-62mph time of just 3.5sec. The production car will stick with the 800V charging system used on the Mission E concept.
Details remain scarce, but Porsche is rumoured to be working with Japanese electronics company Hitachi on the system, which Blume describes as the key to providing the production Mission E’s batteries with an 80% charge in just 15 minutes.
He also confirmed that Porsche plans for the Mission E to have Level 4 autonomous driving technology (self-driving in nearly all situations), as well as software that will allow over-the-air updates such as those pioneered by Tesla with its Model S.
“It isn’t decided yet, but it could be possible [via the updates] to charge up with more power,” said Blume. “For example, when you have 400bhp, it could be possible to upgrade to 450bhp.”