Porsche’s Mission E: Possible

By Jason K. Ang September 23,2015
PORSCHE Mission E Concept hints at the brand’s future styling direction. Note the 911-like side window.

Porsche Mission E Concept hints at the brand’s future styling direction. Note the 911-like side window.

FRANKFURT, Germany—Porsche debuted a completely new vehicle concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA). Called the Mission E, the concept car hints at what a future Panamera might look like, and how it might be propelled.

 

That propulsion will definitely have an electric option, or at the very least, an upgrade of the current plug-in hybrid configuration.

 

Government regulations are pushing for increased efficiency and reduced emissions from all carmakers. Porsche has responded with plug-in hybrids on the Cayenne and Panamera models, and has now introduced an electric car concept.

 

The Mission E’s parameters are intriguing. It has 600 horsepower, good for 0-100 kph of under 3.5 seconds, and 0-200 kph in under 12 seconds. Its range is 500 kilometers.

 

Quick charging

 

The innovation of the Mission E is its 800-volt drive system. It is possible to charge the Mission E to 80-percent capacity in just 15 minutes, equivalent to a filling up your car with fuel and yourself with a cup of espresso, reckons Porsche president Matthias Muller.

 

The Mission E’s 800-volt system doubles the voltage of current electric vehicles. This allows for shorter charging times, as well as lower weight due to smaller copper cables fitted into the car.

 

The Porsche “Turbo Charging” plug is accessible via a removable front panel. Wireless charging via inductive coil is also an option.

 

The Mission E’s lithium-ion batteries are mounted in the underbody between the axles, helping to achieve a 50:50 front-rear weight distribution.

 

A FUTURISTIC control panel still carries the classic Porsche styling cues.

A futuristic control panel still carries the classic Porsche styling cues.

The car’s body is made of aluminum, steel and carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer for lighter weight and higher stiffness. The 21-inch front/22-inch rear wheels are made of carbon.

 

The Mission E is low-slung, with an overall height of just 130 centimeters. The sculpted front end is strikingly similar to the 918 Spyder supercar’s, as well as Porsche’s Le Mans prototype racecars.

 

The LED headlamps are in the four-unit formation currently used in the newer Porsche road cars.

 

The side window profile is styled to have the same shape as the 911’s. However, the doors open suicide-style, the cabin using a pillarless design.

 

The interior is surprisingly roomy, thanks to the electric architecture and the absence of a center tunnel.

 

PORSCHE Mission E is a glimpse of a future electric sportscar.

Porsche Mission E is a glimpse of a future electric sportscar.

Controls of the Mission E combine classic Porsche cues with futuristic technology. The five main round gauges that are a Porsche staple are projected on an OLED screen. The instruments monitor the driver’s eye movements and can modify their projection accordingly, including adjusting for the parallax effect, and reducing the tendency of the steering wheel to block the instruments. They can even monitor the driver’s mood and can display the appropriate emoticon in the instrument panel. Who says the Germans don’t have a sense of humor?

 

Superb handling

 

With its low center of gravity, all-wheel drive, and four-wheel steering, the Mission E is expected to deliver superb handling. This wouldn’t be a Porsche without a corresponding Nurburgring North Loop lap time: a quite respectable “under eight minutes.”

 

Porsche is adamant in stating that Mission E will eventually lead to the introduction of an all-electric sportscar. It is no doubt being spurred on by the success of the Tesla roadster and Model S performance sedan.

 

Muller stated that the technology to bring the Mission E to production will be available in “less than five years.”

 

Meanwhile, the venerable 911 Carrera also gets a timely update at the IAA. The big news is that the cars now feature twin-turbocharged power as standard.

 

PILLARLESS interior

Pillarless interior

Porschephiles need not worry that the brand is shifting to smaller four-cylinder power units. The new engines are still in 3-liter flat-six configuration.

 

Twin turbocharging delivers 370 HP in the Carrera and 420 HP in the Carrera S, and are capable of revving to 7500 rpm.

 

With the new engine, the 911 Carrera S with PDK dual clutch transmission and Sport Chrono package goes from 0-100 kph in 3.9 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than before.

 

The Carrera barrels to that speed in 4.2 seconds. The Carrera S is capable of 308 kph.

 

The new 911 can be spotted via new headlights with four-point daytime running lights, and door handles without the recess overs, and, most strikingly, the new rear engine cover with black vertical louvers.

 

The new Carrera model are available with rear-wheel steering to aid handling. Porsche Active Suspension Management is now standard on all Carrera models.

 

The new Nurburging lap time? Seven minutes, 30 seconds, 10 seconds faster than before.

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