It’s no secret that Porsche is looking to heavily diversify into the EV sector. This company has made leaps and strides towards merging its quintessentially ICE reputation with sleek, modern, lightning-fast EVs. Porsche Mission R comes as a case study in performance electric vehicles. Still a concept, Mission R represents a work in progress that is bound to give birth to a potentially game-changing performance EV platform.
Mission R — Actual Sustainable Performance?
To say that Porsche went above and beyond in testing different concepts with Mission R would be an understatement. Designing a GT racing car from scratch, around an EV platform, all while using sustainable materials, sounds too good to be true. Only, it isn’t.
Instead of mining for aluminum ore, Porsche engineers turned to flax seeds for structural integrity. In other words, many of the add-on parts on the Mission R are made of natural fiber reinforced plastic — a material that is based on flax fibers. The idea behind NFRP is to develop a sustainable, natural material whose core components can be sourced from the agricultural sector.
The cage protecting the driver is made of CFRP, or carbon fiber reinforced plastic. Although fairly expensive to produce in high quantities, CFRP offers incredible strength with very little weight. It’s a stiff material that allows engineers to save space. One glance at the interior of Mission R makes it clear why CFRP was chosen instead of standard steel cell structures.
Direct Oil Cooled Electric Motors
Although Porsche’s collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture deserves all the praise, most gear heads are interested in what powers this concept car. To put it bluntly, you’re getting 911 GT3 Cup levels performance out of the Mission R’s drive system, when it’s in valet mode. The electric motor driving the front axle alone is capable of delivering 320 kW.
It’s when you switch to “qualifying mode” when things really get crazy. When let loose, Mission R will deliver 800 kW, or 1,088 PS of peak power, allowing the car to reach 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds.
Porsche’s engineers have developed a direct oil cooling system that effectively removes thermally induced performance issues. In theory, you can push this car at 500 kW sustained, without the motors overheating.
Fast Charging Battery
The battery technology Porsche is developing through Mission R is setting the foundation for high-performance sustained power delivery.
Mission R features a battery system that utilizes 900-volt architecture, allowing you to get up to 350 kW capacity from the battery, all while enjoying relatively fast charging times. The current evolution of the system allows for an 80% charge in just 15 minutes.
More Than a Concept Car
What Porsche is doing with Mission R could very well change the landscape of endurance racing, if not the future of motorsports as a whole. Mission R may or may not directly result in a production car for the track.
However, you can bet that this particular concept will give birth to numerous technological solutions that will be implemented across Porsche’s EV range in the near future.
