"Too early" for Porsche Formula E project

The launch of the spectacular Porsche Mission E that took place last week at the Frankfurt Motor Show has prompted questions over motorsport applications of the manufacturer's all-electric concept, but Porsche is adamant such a programme is a long ways away.

“It is too early to say what we do with an all-electric vehicle in a racing way,” Porsche LMP1 Head Fritz Enzinger told Motorsport.com last weekend. “We have a lot of Hybrid experience but this is completely new for us and it is something for the future.

"Formula E has shown well in the first year, but it is all very new. Still, we keep an eye on the direction it is going in.

When asked about any competition plans for an all-electric Porsche, Enzinger once more insisted such talk was premature. "At the moment it's only a concept," he said.

The Mission E vehicle uses similar permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) and a braking energy technique system that is in the Le Mans-winning Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 car.

“There are a lot of crossovers with the LMP technology we are running, like the motors,” Enzinger. “We have good technology transfers but [the concept] has been done in a completely different department at Porsche. Still, it had a big impact at Frankfurt last week and it has a very interesting message."

The key specification data for the Mission E is that it has over 600 hp (440 kW) of system power and over 500 km driving range. It is an all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering vehicle, with a charging time of around 15 minutes to reach an 80 per cent charge of electrical energy.

The car produces over 600hp, and does 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds, reaching a maximum speed 200 km/h.