Electric cars haunt us. There’s no noise, no proper engine, nothing. Is that really what automotive evolution is, or supposed to be? Since three major sports car manufacturers have made their hybrid supercar, yes, cars will be powered by electrons. In a technical way, yes, electric cars are kind of interesting… for someone who likes that. But guess what, Porsche just have triggered our curiosity with their new study concept : Mission E. We are not going to deal with all the technical aspects in this post; just the main ones. Text: Luca W. © Images & Media: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG ©

The Mission E is the very first “car” to get an 800-volt drive system. While the other electric cars have a 400-volt drive system, it makes the Mission E über performant.

Mission E charging area : in the fender
Mission E charging area : in the fender

PMSM. What is that? For those of you who have watched 24h of Le Mans this summer, you may have seen the Porsche 919s 1-2 finish. Well, they were equipped with PMSM (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors), which recovers braking energy to accelerate, simply. The Mission E concept is, as the 919s, equipped with those Iron Man things, which produce over 600 HP. Oh, yes, we almost forgot : they can propel the car to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds, and to 200 km/h in less than 12 seconds.

Porsche Mission E isn’t really all about performance

3.5 seconds to do 0 to 100, that is kind of impressive when a Ferrari 458 does 3.3. The Mission E is, let’s say, as performant as a 458 on drag race, has a range of 500 kilometres (like a Tesla) and… can charge its batteries up to 80% in 15 minutes. By the way, Tesla Superchargers can do 50% in 20 minutes. So, who’s the boss? We still don’t know! I’d like to say Porsche, but it’s too early.
Nevertheless, we wouldn’t be impressed if Porsche’s engineers soon come up with a production version of the Mission E. In fact, they’ve not only come up with huge technical improvements, but also with comfort and interior designs that really can change a driver’s life.