| Starting price: | Concept |
| Engine volume: | 2 Electric Motors |
| Cylinders: | 0 |
| Torque: | Unknown |
| Horsepower: | 600 hp |
| 0 to 100 km/h: | 3.5 seconds |
| Maximum speed: | 250 km/h |
With the Frankfurt Auto Showroom going on right now, big name manufacturers bought some seriously awesome vehicles along with them to show off including Lamborghini’s Huracan Spyder, but that’s not what we’re talking about here, we’re looking at Porsche’s answer to Tesla. With their recent unveiling of their Misson E Concept.
With styling cues derived from the 918 Spyder plus original design, saying Mission E is a beauty is an understatement.
With a body made from aluminium, steel and carbon fibre it’s light but strong, it’s extremely stable, so stable in fact that Porsche removed the B-pillar giving the vehicle coupe styling even though its a sedan. It’s got four doors, four seats, is only 1.3 metres tall and no wing mirrors as it uses cameras instead to display an image on the windshield corners.
Stunning looks is not the only thing going for it, it packs a 600 horsepower power unit all electric by the way. Running from 0-100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds, that’s quicker than a current Porsche 911 Carrera S with a 3.6 litre flat 6 cylinder petrol engine!
Innovative apparatus continue inside, a curved OLED display for dashboard instruments features eye-tracking, gesture and mood detecting technology and get this, it detects the driver’s position in the seat for optimal viewing. Passengers are treated to holographic menus to ‘grab’ apps out of the air, (drivers can participate if the car is stationary). There’s also a touch-screen panel in the centre console and a bar running across the dashboard showing visual information about the car, think passenger ticker bar in the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, but far more futuristic.
Can’t get any better right? Wrong, to charge the unit to 80% takes just 15 minutes and on 100%, Misson E can cover a distance of 500 kilometres on a single charge. Comparing Porsche’s first attempt at an all-electric car to Tesla’s Model S P85D it’s quite impressive.
| Cars | Porsche Mission E | Tesla Model S P85D |
| Engine volume: | 2 Electric Motors | 2 Electric motors |
| Horsepower: | 600 hp | 661 hp |
| Maximum speed: | 250 km/h | 250 km/h |
| 0 to 100 km/h: | 3.5 Seconds | 3.2 Seconds |
| 80% Charge time | 15 Minutes | 30 Minutes |
| Distance on 100% | 500 km | 483 km |
To charge Mission E, a panel on the right side of the vehicle slides towards the front wheel and reveals the charging slot. Plugging in an 800-Volt charging cable is the reason for rapid charging. It’s also said to utilise new charging technology, just simply parking it in a garage or driveway will charge it too. We’re not sure how this works though.
Behind its outstanding performance is Magnet Synchronous Motor or PMSM for short, a similar system used in Porsche 919’s of which two of them brought home a 1-2 finish fo the German Manufacturer at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans. There are two motors, one mounted on the front axle and the other on the rear.
Tesla really has some competition in the sporty electric sedan class even if it’s in a couple of years, for now, it only has the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 amongst other city cars to deal with at the moment. Pretty sure Elon Musk is putting the pieces together for something more ludicrous.
Porsche has a five-year plan for Mission E: Concept meaning it could see the light of day in 2020 or 2021! That’s a bit of a wait though and as it’s a sedan, check out all new Porsche Panamera and used Porsche listings in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi on dubicars.com
