Porsche and Audi Challenge Tesla
Engineering360 News Desk | September 16, 2015
Porsche and Audi to challenge Tesla. Porsche and Audi has unveiled all-electric models at the Frankfurt Auto Show to challenge Tesla’s existing market offering. Audi unveiled an SUV concept car for its "e-tron quattro" vehicle with a range of more than 500 km. Porsche showed the prototype of its first battery-powered sports car, titled "Mission E." Similar to its i911 in appearance, it has an 800-volt electric powertrain with 600 horsepower that accelerates to 100 km per hour in 3.5 seconds.
The vehicles will not be on the market until 2018. That compares with Tesla's electric crossover, the Model X, deliverable in September 2015.
Both Porsche and Audi are owned by Volkswagen, and the move to all-electric could boost the credibility of the concept. Tesla's Elon Musk put his electric-car patents into the public domain in 2014 in the hope of boosting development of competing electric car technology.
One design element will be how far the cars can travel without having to be recharged. Tesla is developing a network of charging stations across North America and Europe. That could help Volkswagen as many consumers are waiting for suitable infrastructure to be developed.
Tesla's Model X starts approximately at $77,000. The Audi and Porsche autos have not yet been given a price range.
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