In 2015, Porsche Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume announced that the company's promise to deliver "environmentally-friendly" vehicles is underway. Its venture into electrical motors pits them against other car manufacturers ushering a new era for car technology.
"This vehicle is Porsche's answer to the questions associated with the future of electric mobility, our Porsche Mission E," said Michael Mauer, Director Style Porsche.
The project has been greenlit and cleared for production with the design team recently releasing a behind-the-scenes video regarding the first steps of production.
The 5-minute video showcases the various stages the design team underwent to build the individual parts of the Porsche Mission E. It specifies various production methods from sketches to prototype representations, and then finally, a working model that could be driven.
"This concept car is a truly fantastic challenge for us because it's our first electric sports car," said Mitja Borkert, director of Exterior Design for Porsche.
"You're commissioned to do a job and in this case, to develop a four-seat car with an electric drive system. Then you start producing sketches as a team. And then the sketches are shown in presentations that are made in specific intervals. After a sketch has been selected, a 1:3 scale model is produced," Emiel Burki, an Exterior Designer for Porsche, adds.
The exterior "look" of the car was of significant emphasis as the designers wanted to produce a model that would live up to Porsche's high standards in sleek design and finish. The vehicle, first and foremost, had to be "clearly recognizable as a Porsche."
The electric build allows them to build an "extremely low front end" because there was no engine in the front. The concept built was similar to Porsche models from 1950 to 1970. Then, with a more modern version of the Porsche 919, results in a "combination of a racecar and carefully designed vehicle."
"One of our most well-known cars is the 911, of course, and this vehicle will carry into a new era all the things the 911 has been famous for throughout the decades," Ivo van Hulten, director of Interior Design for Porsche, said in describing the motivations behind the car's sleek interior.
The car's intuitive headboard uses "gestures and eye-recognition systems" to operate and displays using a new type of Holographic display. Commands can be made through the front passenger's side and via the central console as well.
The car has four bucket seats that have a "sporty design," made of quality material and precise craftsmanship that "truly conforms to the highest standards.
Porsche Mission E specifications include: Two electric motors; 600 horsepower or 440 kW in system power; 310-mile battery usage; burst speeds of 60 mph in about 3 seconds; and a recharge speed of 80 percent in about 15 minutes, or about 248 miles, through the new turbocharging system.
This is the dawn of a new era. https://t.co/1LJhFfSLyV #MissionE pic.twitter.com/WOLdpTHJRY
— Porsche (@Porsche) January 7, 2016
Porsche had earlier announced that they will be investing about 1 billion euros, or about $1.1 billion, into the technology, with 700 million euros, or about $764 million, allocated for its main factory. Around 1,000 jobs will be created from the project that is rumored to be completed by around the year 2020.
