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The new electric Porsche Mission E concept car.ODD ANDERSEN/AFP / Getty Images
What is it?
One of the biggest surprises of the 2015 Frankfurt auto show came from Porsche, in the form of its beautiful all-electric Mission E concept.
Signature feature
The Mission E is Porsche's (belated) answer to Tesla's Model S. Even more impressive than the concept's styling, is Porsche's claim to have developed a quick-charging system that takes just 15 minutes to get the battery to 80 per cent.
What else is new?
The cabin of the Mission E has a holographic instrument display, and controls operated by eye-tracking and gestures. Cool! On an unrelated note: Why couldn't Porsche have made the Panamera this beautiful? The company has a frustrating history of showing off stunning concepts and delivering production cars that – while technically excellent – just don't look as good.
Under the hood
Since it's just a concept, take the specs with a healthy dose of skepticism. But if Porsche can put this car into production, it would be pretty spectacular: 600 horsepower, 500-kilometre range, four doors, four seats, all-wheel drive, two permanent magnet synchronous motors, 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds, and 0-200 km/h in less than 12. Porsche says the quick-charging system is made possible by an 800-volt connection.
When can we buy it, and for how much?
It's not for sale, unfortunately.
Cool quotient
5 stars (out of five)
Porsche needs to put this into production now. Don't wait until 2020.