The Porsche Concept known as Mission E is not just building its very first conventional electric car. It is designed with speeds up to 125 mph in 13 seconds, way enough to beat the Tesla's Model S on a race day.
Transmissions are not very popular on electric cars as it gives weight and complexity. Tesla once considered a multi-speed electric-based transmission for its cars, but ending up abandoning the idea.
Though the concept of putting a gear box is not being scratched out completely for electric cars, keeping it at bay has been a good idea as it produces mechanical failures in due time. ZF Friedrichshafen, a German Gearbox company, also thinks that one gear is just right for conventional EVs.
At the Frankfurt Auto Show last September, the Porsche Mission E concept demonstrated its swift 800-volt charging system with a 310-mile driving range. With an expensive packaging, the concept car was not designed to be a conventional electric vehicle, nor is it designed to run like one.
The concept car demonstrates separate motors for each of its wheels, and yes, all four of them with a different mechanism. With its torque vector system, the car can get to 62 mph in less than 4 seconds up to 125 mph in less than 13 seconds. The Mission E compared to the Tesla P90D Model S in terms of maximum speed is way off. The Mission E could be the fastest EV yet of this time.
The electric sports car also previews its separate motors on each wheel with different reduction ratios, making the Mission E more agile compared to Tesla's. With this kind of technology put in Porsche's Mission E, it gives Porsche fanatics the dynamic driving familiarity well known to them.
Porsche gives a powerful hint that the automaker is looking for ways to expand the differences within the motors and its reduction ratios. This is a not-so-different strategy already applied by the Tesla to its Model S P85D and P90D. With a much taller gear in front in Tesla's cars, road differences likely are not all that significant.
