MOTORING
Surrey’s Premier Lifestyle Magazine
On a mission
Debuted recently at the Frankfurt motor show, Porsche is on a mission. Mission E to be precise and for that read the first battery-powered, four-seater concept car from the marque. Euan Johns looks at an exciting future and Tesla competitor.
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This is what it might look like – the Porsche of tomorrow. Together with the new 911 Carrera, Porsche presented the Mission E concept car at the IAA in Frankfurt last month. The concept is a coherent sports car design with an electric drive and all the traits that make up a Porsche.
In the Mission E, there is an entirely new balance to be experienced between performance and efficiency. All this is supplemented by futuristic displays and control concept. This first all-electrically powered four-seat Porsche for the 21st century represents the future of a concept that has made the 911 the most successful sports car for over 50 years.
Mission E provides an extensive insight into how Porsche sees the future of the electric sports car, addressing some of the problems, not least charging time and power deliverance.
In the Mission E, there is an entirely new balance to be experienced between performance and efficiency. All this is supplemented by futuristic displays and control concept. This first all-electrically powered four-seat Porsche for the 21st century represents the future of a concept that has made the 911 the most successful sports car for over 50 years.
Mission E provides an extensive insight into how Porsche sees the future of the electric sports car, addressing some of the problems, not least charging time and power deliverance.
At first glance the fascinating, futuristic design of the four-door car bears references to the 911 and reveals the E to unmistakeably contain Porsche’s DNA. This meticulously designed sports car with all-wheel drive develops a total power of over 600 hp, which can be converted into typical Porsche driving dynamics.
The driving range is over 500 kilometres with an innovative 800-volts battery charging system. The Porsche Turbo Charging remarkably reduces charging time to just slightly longer than it takes to fill a fuel tank today. At the quick charge station, it takes just over fifteen minutes to provide enough charge for around 80 per cent of the total range. The car can also be recharged at home in the garage via inductive charging by simply parking over a coil embedded in the floor of the garage.
In keeping with Mission E’s purist interior, the control and display concept is intuitive with eye-tracking and gesture control as well as innovative functions. Amongst all the gizmos (to mention a few) are:
• a camera mounted in the rear view mirror that recognises the driver’s mood and shows it as an emoticon in the round instrument. This fun factor can be saved together with individual information such as the route or speed, and should the urge take, it can be shared with friends via a social media link.
• a holographic display that extends far into the passenger side. It shows individually selectable apps stacked in virtual space and arranged by priority with a three-dimensional effect. The driver or passenger can use these apps to touch-free control primary functions such as media, navigation, climate control, contacts and vehicle.
• virtual exterior mirrors are literally eye-catching. Lower corners of the windscreen show images of outside cameras mounted in the front wings providing the driver with an enhanced view of surroundings, and safety information can also be displayed.
• an eye-tracking system detects which instrument the driver is viewing. The driver can then activate the menu of the instrument in focus by pushing a button on the steering wheel and navigate within it.
The driving range is over 500 kilometres with an innovative 800-volts battery charging system. The Porsche Turbo Charging remarkably reduces charging time to just slightly longer than it takes to fill a fuel tank today. At the quick charge station, it takes just over fifteen minutes to provide enough charge for around 80 per cent of the total range. The car can also be recharged at home in the garage via inductive charging by simply parking over a coil embedded in the floor of the garage.
In keeping with Mission E’s purist interior, the control and display concept is intuitive with eye-tracking and gesture control as well as innovative functions. Amongst all the gizmos (to mention a few) are:
• a camera mounted in the rear view mirror that recognises the driver’s mood and shows it as an emoticon in the round instrument. This fun factor can be saved together with individual information such as the route or speed, and should the urge take, it can be shared with friends via a social media link.
• a holographic display that extends far into the passenger side. It shows individually selectable apps stacked in virtual space and arranged by priority with a three-dimensional effect. The driver or passenger can use these apps to touch-free control primary functions such as media, navigation, climate control, contacts and vehicle.
• virtual exterior mirrors are literally eye-catching. Lower corners of the windscreen show images of outside cameras mounted in the front wings providing the driver with an enhanced view of surroundings, and safety information can also be displayed.
• an eye-tracking system detects which instrument the driver is viewing. The driver can then activate the menu of the instrument in focus by pushing a button on the steering wheel and navigate within it.
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“The concept car combines the unmistakeable emotional design of a Porsche with excellent performance and the forward-thinking practicality of the first 800-volt drive system.”
Porsche NewsThe list goes on, but I’ll stop there, as it’s enough just to take in the look of the car, futuristic whilst retaining those historic and sporty good looks. Batman would be proud of it. But if you can’t wait for all this, there’s the new Porsche Carrera also premiered with the E, which probably lost out to it in the attention grabbing stakes.
So what’s new with this classic? Well more refined looks, a new engine with bi-turbo charging, enhanced performance and efficiency and a re-engineered chassis which lowers the ride by ten millimeters. There’s a new option of rear-axle steering, available on the Carrera S models for the first time. For statistician petrolheads that translates into the fastest lap time around the North Loop of the Nürburgring being reduced to seven minutes and 30 seconds – ten seconds faster than previously.
Worried about the car being a little low to access the garage? Don’t be as a hydraulic lift system can be chosen with integrated lifting cylinders in the struts of the front axle. Pressing a button increases ground clearance at the nose by 40 millimetres within five seconds thus preventing the vehicle underbody from hitting the ground when traversing steep garage exits. So we can all sleep soundly.
What does all this mean? Well, in reality, the new Porsche Carrera is a sleeker, better engineered, up to date sports machine that anyone would be proud to own. Alternatively, Porsche lovers may just want to hold on to their existing classic and go on a personal ‘mission’ to have what looks like being a winner in the Mission E, if the charging rates match the hype. Who would have thought: a clean sports car without any reduction in performance? Hold on to your hats everyone.
So what’s new with this classic? Well more refined looks, a new engine with bi-turbo charging, enhanced performance and efficiency and a re-engineered chassis which lowers the ride by ten millimeters. There’s a new option of rear-axle steering, available on the Carrera S models for the first time. For statistician petrolheads that translates into the fastest lap time around the North Loop of the Nürburgring being reduced to seven minutes and 30 seconds – ten seconds faster than previously.
Worried about the car being a little low to access the garage? Don’t be as a hydraulic lift system can be chosen with integrated lifting cylinders in the struts of the front axle. Pressing a button increases ground clearance at the nose by 40 millimetres within five seconds thus preventing the vehicle underbody from hitting the ground when traversing steep garage exits. So we can all sleep soundly.
What does all this mean? Well, in reality, the new Porsche Carrera is a sleeker, better engineered, up to date sports machine that anyone would be proud to own. Alternatively, Porsche lovers may just want to hold on to their existing classic and go on a personal ‘mission’ to have what looks like being a winner in the Mission E, if the charging rates match the hype. Who would have thought: a clean sports car without any reduction in performance? Hold on to your hats everyone.