FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Porsche EV to reset performance standard

Porsche wants the production version of the spectacular Mission E electric vehicle concept to reset the performance standard for electric vehicles -- beyond even the upstart Tesla Models S.

And Porsche’s global R&D boss Wolfgang Hatz has also revealed the Frankfurt motor show star’s drivetrain could form the basis of an EV family.

The Mission E is on the verge of approval for production, with an on-sale date by 2020. Hatz says Porsche wants it to be the fastest EV, while also able to be driven harder longer than its rivals while retaining superior range from its lithium-ion battery pack.

He also says the design will never be powered by anything other than pure EV propulsion.

“It will be the most performant [sic] electric car,” Hatz told motoring.com.au at Frankfurt.

“I don’t know what they [Tesla] are doing, but we know what we are doing and we will take the thing close to the limits.”

The Mission E – for which a production name has yet to be decided – has a range beyond 500km, a recharging time to 80 per cent capacity as little as 15 minutes and the ability for its two electric motors to repeatedly deliver acceleration at short intervals.

Porsche has also claimed a 0-100km/h time under 3.5 secs for the Mission E. While the Model S achieves it in 2.9 sec in ‘Ludicrous Speed’ mode, Porsche had left itself an out on that score.

“We said less than 3.5 seconds but we didn’t say how much less,” Hatz said.

“You can be sure this will be a very performant [sic] car.”

Tesla’s car has a very limited time during which full power can be applied. It’s suggested that the full potential of Model S can only be utilised for periods of less than two minutes.

Hatz told motoring.com.au the Mission E’s repeatable performance was superior to any other EV, but wouldn’t say how that was done. He acknowledged the contribution the 918 Spyder supercar and 919 Le Mans racer had made to the system’s development.

“We are not prepared to reveal all the details – but it is a very high power density e-motor [that is] very much derivated and influenced by 918 development and then 919. In 919 we do our own e-motors and those e-motors we use on the Mission E will also be a strong in-house development with a partner which we cannot publish at the moment. But there is a strong influence from our own engineers.

“These e-motors are mainly for high performance cars. They are more compact, lighter and perhaps a bit more expensive than other e-motors.

“I can say today the [electric] cars I know if you do 0-100km/h one time it is okay, if you do it two times it is a little bit worse, if you do it three or four times... I will never talk about competitors but what I see is not repeatable,” Hatz commented.

The engineering boss confirmed Porsche’s own testing regime, as well as the official European NEDC test cycle, had established the Mission E drivetrain could be driven hard yet still deliver a long range, negating a major issue for EVs that drain their batteries rapidly in such circumstances.

“We have the Porsche high duty cycle and there we have objectives we know what we want to achieve and then we have the NEDC cycle where we know what we will achieve and that will be above 500km.

“But it also has to be reasonable even on our high duty cycle; that is our goal.”

Hatz said the scalable drivetrain made a family of EVs in a variety of body styles including SUV likely.

“We can shorten the wheelbase, we can lengthen the wheelbase. We can make the car low, very low or a little bit higher,” he said.

“First of all we want to get the first car a success.”

Hatz also revealed the wild body was a chance to make production without significant change, potentially with the radical counter-opening rear doors and without a B-pillar.

“We try to do it [the exterior] as close as possible to production,” he said.

“They [the doors] are feasible, but it depends on what we want to spend on it. Is it worth it?”

Despite a substantial R&D spend and the need to build specific assembly facilities, Hatz stressed a production Mission E needed to be profitable. That need also helped explain why Porsche opted for the Tesla-like four-door four-seat layout.

“What we wanted to do was a very sporty car but still with the comfort where you can easily transport four people; we will also have luggage room in the front and the rear. So then I think you can say this is a concept that is Porsche, this is a sports car and it’s pure EV.

“I think we don’t have a car very similar to that in our production line, so that fills also something where we are not present and that gives us more chances to get customers towards our brand.”

Hatz said the 800 volt recharging capability of the Mission E should become the industry standard because of the improved speed compared to the usual 400 volt recharging, plus the weight it saves. He admitted there was currently no infrastructure to support 800V, but that Porsche was lobbying for change.

“There are different scenarios; we could invest by ourselves for our customers, or we could find an investor who is doing it and taking the profit from quick recharging. Second, we can do it with other OEMs and when I explain it [800v] to them they say this is the future. So the ball is rolling.

“There are several options and at the right moment we will make the decision.”

Hatz also confirmed the interior’s radical OLED (organic light-emitting diode) instrumentation, gesture control apps and eye tracking functions all had production potential and could spread into other Porsche models as they become available.

“It is a good idea and we are working on it,” he said.

Full coverage from motoring.com.au at Frankfurt motor show here