During the opening show of the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) Porsche introduced the Mission E, the first all-electrically powered four-seat sports car in the brand's history.
The concept car combines the unmistakable emotional design of a Porsche with excellent performance and the forward-thinking practicality of the first 800-volt drive system.
Key specification data of this sports car are as follows: four doors and four single seats, over 600 hp (440 kW) system power and over 500 km driving range, all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, zero to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.5 seconds and a charging time of around 15 minutes to reach an 80 per cent charge of electrical energy.
Instruments are intuitively operated by eye-tracking and gesture control, some even via holograms – highly oriented toward the driver by automatically adjusting the displays to the driver's position.
Drive system
Drive System
The drive system of the Mission E is entirely new. Two permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) - similar to those used in this year's Le Mans victor, the 919 hybrid – accelerate the sports car and recover braking energy.
Together the two motors produce over 600 hp, and they propel the Mission E to a speed of 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and to 200 km/h in under twelve seconds. In addition to their high efficiency, power density and uniform power development, they offer another advantage: unlike today's electric drive systems, they can develop their full power even after multiple accelerations at short intervals.
The need-based all-wheel drive system with Porsche Torque Vectoring – which automatically distributes torque to the individual wheels – transfers the drive system's power to the road, and all-wheel steering gives precise, sporty steering in the desired direction. This makes the Mission E fit for the circuit race track; its lap time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife is under the eight-minute mark.
Driving Range
It is not just a passion for sportiness that makes a Porsche but also a high level of everyday practicality. Accordingly, the Mission E can travel over 500 km on one battery charge and it can be charged with enough energy for around 400 km more driving range in approximately fifteen minutes.
Porsche have introduced 800 volt technology, double the voltage of today’s electric vehicles, which offers multiple advantages including shorter charging times and a lower weight because lighter, smaller gage copper cables are sufficient for energy transport.A moveable body segment on the front left wing in front of the driver's door gives access to the charging port for the innovative “Porsche Turbo Charging” system. Via the 800-volt port, the battery can be charged to approximately 80 per cent of its capacity in around 15 minutes – a record time for electric vehicles.
As an alternative, the technology platform can be connected to a conventional 400-volt charging station, or it can be replenished at home in the garage via convenient inductive charging by simply parking over a coil embedded in the floor of the garage from which the energy is transferred without cables to a coil on the car's underbody.
Driving Dynamics
Another feature that is typical of a Porsche sports car is a lightweight concept with optimal weight distribution and a low centre of gravity. The battery mounted in the car's underbody, which is based on the latest lithium-ion technology, runs the whole length between the front and rear axles. This distributes its weight to the two drive axles uniformly, resulting in exceptionally good balance. In addition, it makes the sports car's centre of gravity extremely low. Both of these factors significantly boost performance and a sports car feeling.
The body as a whole is made up of a functional mix of aluminium, steel and carbon fibre reinforced polymer. The wheels are made of carbon: the Mission E has wide tyres mounted on 21-inch wheels in front and 22-inch wheels at the rear
Discover more about the Mission E Concept Car here.