If you count the racing cars in customer racing hands, Porsche is the most successful sports car brand in the world: over 4400 Cup racers based on 911 were delivered in 31 years of the German Carrera Cup alone. 30 such brand cups take place worldwide. But whether Formula E, Extreme E or customer racing: The electric boom cannot be stopped on the racetrack either.
The Porsche Mission R Concept, which has now been unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Munich (D), now shows – according to rumors, no sooner than 2024 – what the cup racer looks like for the age of high-voltage electricity. “Battery cells are the combustion chambers of the future,” says Porsche boss Oliver Blume (53) about the unveiling. And: “Motorsport will become more electric.”
1088 hp for 1500 kilos
The Mission R is intended as a one-seater, but a second seat might fit in. The flounder is just 1.12 meters high and 4.33 meters short, but 1.99 meters wide and weighs 1,500 kilos including the 80 kWh battery. The battery is in front of the rear axle, which should provide mid-engine dynamics – and the system works with 900 volts for rapid pit stop charging: the four-wheel drive’s battery should go from five to 80 percent in 15 minutes.
The power is insane: behind the Taycan-style face is the front electric motor with 320 kW (435 hp), under the ultra-flat rear the rear one with 480 kW (653 hp). Makes a total of 500 kW (650 PS) in continuous racing mode and 800 kW (1088 PS) in qualifying mode, no typographical error. So it goes to 100 km / h in under 2.5 seconds and then further up to 300 km / h top. So is that the future of endurance racing à la Le Mans?
“Echoes of a production model”
Porsche sees the Mission R logically as a development laboratory for the electric era: The electric motors, for example, are more or less newly developed (based on the Taycan motors), the recuperation power is up to 800 kW – which is why the Mission R never starts with a fully charged battery: In this way, he not only regains power, but can also brake aggressively into the first corner. The brakes can therefore be significantly less powerful.
Just a dream? Hardly likely. And maybe even more than “just” a racing car. Above the belt, the Mission R is already showing “echoes of a future series model,” says Porsche Head of Design Michael Mauer (59) about the Mission R. A Taycan coupé? A little Taycan? Or even the electric brother of the 911, which is also supposed to drive into the future? Wait and see.