Two German powerhouses are taking on Elon Mush at his own game: electric cars. The Volkswagen press conference last Monday unveiled two electric concept cars, the Audi e-tron Quattro concept SUV and Porsche Mission E, Mashable reported.
Let us start with the Audi. First of all, they have already announced a launch date sometime in early 2018. The SUV, or at least the concept, has three electric motors. It has one up front and two by the rear axles. Combined, they juice out 320 kW or 429 horsepower. With boost, it goes all the way up to 370 kW or 496 horsepower. The SUV is expected to have a 311-mile range or 500.50 kilometers.
That kind of power zooms the Audi e-tron Quattro concept to 100 kph (62.1 mph) in under 4.6 seconds, according to Autoblog. As for charging its battery, there is an expected SAE Combo/Combined Charging System (CCS) outlet. The battery can also accommodate wireless induction charging. Audi says that a 150-kW DC fast charger fills it up in 50 minutes.
And now for the Porsche Mission E. One look at this sports sedan and you know its lineage. Knowing that it is electric powered also hints at the Mission E's, well, mission to dethrone the Tesla Model S as the world's coolest electric car. It has a range of up to 300 miles and gets from 0-60 in just 2.8 seconds. Wow. Also, the battery can reach 80% capacity after just 15 minutes of charging.
Of course, Tesla can just brush this aside since the Mission E is just a concept car-at the moment. But since Porsche has experienced great success with its hybrids like the 911, 918, and even the 919 hybrid that won Le Mans, Porsche's move into full EV is to be expected. The Porsche Mission E has two motors taken from the 919 that churns out 600 horsepower. It will have all-wheel steering for improved stability and speed, Wired reported.
Porsche has yet to announce any release dates or even a functioning concept, but the future looks very exciting. Tesla has been enjoying its place at the top for a long time now and maybe, just maybe, Porsche will jettison the Mission E all the way to pole position.
