Porsche Mission E heads to production

With the 918 Spyder, Porsche has already shown that it has what it takes to create a hybrid supercar that can tear it up on the racetrack, and save the environment a bit in the process too. Now, Porsche is taking it a bit further with the Mission E fully-electric supercar. First shown at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, the Mission E has now been given the go-ahead for production and will launch before the end of this decade.

It is not just an experimental or halo thing either; Porsche is looking to pour big money into the Mission E project. The company announced it’s investing about 700 million euros in its operations in Stuttgart to build a new assembly plant and paint shop, while the engine factory is being expanded so electric motors can be added to the mix. The body shop is also growing, showing that Porsche expects this new all-electric car to be pretty popular.

With motive power coming from its lithium ion batteries, the Mission E promises to deliver a mileage of 500 kms on a single charge. Porsche may manage to boost it further, when the vehicle actually hits the dealership stores, but for now, this range seems acceptable. Total power is said to be 592 horsepower, 0-100kmph will be done and dusted in 3.2 seconds. Another interesting aspect about the fully electric vehicle from Porsche is that it can charge up to 80% battery within 15 minutes.

Apart from the Porsche Mission E, Silicon Valley is also jumping into the automotive, autonomous, and alternative energy fray. Google and Apple are claimed to have 2020 as a target for releasing their own vehicles – in Google's car, an entirely autonomous pod. Meanwhile, Tesla will be ready to start selling the Model 3, its cheapest and smallest electric car yet, in 2017.