The Mission E goes from concept car to production
Porsche has confirmed that its Mission E all-electric concept car will become a production reality, setting in motion what it describes as "a new chapter in the history of the sports car".
The Mission E was first shown at the Frankfurt motor show in September, and is a four-door, four-seat, four-wheel-drive supercar powered exclusively by batteries.
Porsche claims a 0-100km/h time of less than 3.5 seconds, along with a range of more than 500km from a single charge. Not only that, but thanks to a new 800-volt charging system (twice as powerful as today's quick-chargers), its lithium-ion batteries can receive an 80 per cent boost in just 15 minutes.
Alternatively, the Mission E can be charged wirelessly by induction, if you have a system installed into a garage floor.
Oliver Blume, chairman of the Porsche Executive Board, said: "We are resolutely taking on the challenge of electric mobility. Even with solely battery-powered sports cars, Porsche is remaining true to its philosophy and offering our customers the sportiest and technologically most sophisticated model in this market segment."
The Mission E will go on sale by the end of the decade and be built in a new assembly plant at Porsche's Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen production site, creating more than 1000 jobs. In addition, Porsche's existing engine factory will be expanded in order to cater for production of Mission E's electric motors.
When it goes on sale its rivals will include the Tesla Model S, which in dual motor form can get from 0-100k/h in 3.2 seconds and has a range of up to490km between charges.
Like the Tesla, the concept Mission E was powered by two electric motors (one per axle), with batteries mounted under the floor.
News of the Mission E came the same day Volkswagen, which owns Porsche, revealed it had suffered a 20 per cent drop in UK sales in November in the wake of the "dieselgate" scandal.