Porsche's electric car can take over Tesla

Porsche plans on rolling out the Mission E concept by 2020

Though the world wouldn’t want to admit it, electric cars seem to be the future for the automobile industry. The success of Tesla motors and the ever-increasing investment by car manufacturers in hybrids is evidence that soon we will see petrol stations being taken over by charging stations.

We recently saw some big names in the industry launch their versions of electric car concepts, including the BMW vision next 100 and Mercedes Benz F015. However, the latest comes from Porsche, which recently unveiled the Mission E concept.

Porsche had earlier announced the company would be hiring 1400 people to beef up its workforce to start work on the electric car division. It plans on rolling out the Mission E concept by 2020.

The all electric car was first unveiled at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt last September, with only minor details being disclosed by the manufacturer.

Here we take a closer look as to what the Mission E would look like and the futuristic options we can expect the car to feature:

Design

PHOTO: PORSCHE

The Mission E concept maintains the trademark Porsche design with an extremely flat hood and a cabin that tappers towards the end, showcasing the similarities it has with the 918, and at the same time giving a futuristic look.

PHOTO: PORSCHE

With a height of 1.3 meters, virtual exterior mirrors and counter opening doors, the Mission E does indeed meet the requirements of the future.

Interior

PHOTO: PORSCHE

The interior is where the Mission E hides most of its tricks. Dubbed as the 'Eye Tracking' feature, menu navigation in the concept is controlled by a camera that detects the options desired by the driver, which is then confirmed by a button on the steering wheel.

PHOTO: PORSCHE

Dynamic display gives a 3D view of the instruments that adjusts automatically according to the height and angle of view of the driver.

Performance

PHOTO: PORSCHE

PHOTO: PORSCHE

Living up to Porsche’s reputation, in the power department the Mission E packs 400kW motors - equivalent to 600hp, which gives it a top speed of more than 250kph. Acceleration is also fast with the car capable of reaching 100kph in less than 3.5 seconds.

Porsche has also overcome the conventional drawbacks associated with electric cars. The car maintains a perfect centre of gravity by spreading the lithium-ion batteries between the axles on the cars under-body.

The lithium-ion batteries give an impressive range of more than 500 kilometers and can reach 80 per cent of the maximum charge level in 15 minutes.

It also features inductive charging, which enables the car to be charged simply by parking over a charging base that can be installed in a garage. A charging port is also placed under the front fender for a more conventional charging through a cable.