Porsche is prepared to take on the BMW 5 Series as well as the Tesla Model S with an all-new four-door. According to AutoCar, the new Porsche sedan will feature both electric and hydrogen fuel cell variants. Wow.
Details on the two vehicles are limited, but expect the electric Porsche four-door to produce power figures over 420 bhp to match the Tesla Model S. The new Porsche should deliver about 265 miles of range in order to once again rival the standard Tesla Model S.
Unlike the Tesla, the new electric Porsche will not have an all-new dedicated architecture. Instead. an adaptation of the MSB platform will serve the new EVs. While Porsche will carry over the front and rear crash structures as well as the side sill members, the rest of the chassis is substantially modified to accommodate rear-mounted electric motors. Patents for a new structural rear-mounting system for electric drive motors were filed as early as December 2014.
Based on the patent design, the powertrain will also act as a stress member in the “eMSB” structure, which will give the new Porsche an extraordinarily stiff rear end and additional enforcement against rear impact.
This rear-mounted powertrain may also serve as the foundation of the upcoming Audi R8 e-tron design as well.
Porsche parent company Volkswagen’s R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg first shared some very interesting details regarding Porsche’s new car during an annual Volkswagen conference in March. There, Hackenberg mentioned plans of a Porsche hydrogen fuel cell.
Stay tuned as we learn more about the Porsche battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell models in the months ahead. The Porsche battery electric model could arrive in late 2017. The hydrogen model will be scheduled shortly afterwards and only be available at a limited run.
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