Porsche to take all-electric Mission E concept to production

By, 2015-12-09

With near-Ludicrous performance and a fast-charging system that leaves Tesla in the dust, Porsche's concept electric sedan clearly draws a bull's-eye on Musk's dream machine.
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Porsche’s Mission E may be very explicitly a concept car—its exaggerated lines and ridiculous ride height attest to that. But its mission is abundantly clear: This all-electric performance sedan is out for Tesla blood.

Introduced as a surprise at VW’s Group Night festivities in Frankfurt, the automaker’s 12-brand celebration that precedes almost every major auto show, the Mission E carries some impressive, if imaginary, stats: zero to 62 mph in less than 3.5 seconds, 310 miles of all-electric range, and a platform that vectors 600 horses to all four wheels. While those acceleration and power numbers may fall slightly short of the 762 horses and 2.8-second zero-to-60 sprint claimed by Tesla’s Ludicrous Mode, Porsche also wants to hit Tesla where it hurts: the charging socket.

We are resolutely taking on the challenge of electric mobility,” said Dr. Oliver Blume, chairman of the Porsche executive board, in a statement. “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.” Blume also said that the Mission E project “underlines the importance of Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen as a production site, of Baden-Württemberg as a center of technology and of the whole German automotive industry.”

Something tells us that Porsche will price the Mission E at least as high as the Model S, given that most of the Porsche lineup above the Boxster and Cayman is already into the range of Elon Musk’s sedan and even the new Model X. Porsche is also no stranger to electric drivetrain components; its $850,000 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid supercar made serious waves on its introduction, so a fully electric car is the logical next step for Stuttgart.