After the Mission E, Porsche to Develop an Electric Supercar Platform for Sharing
Porsche is apparently working on a new supercar platform for itself. However, both Audi and Lamborghini are said to be able to get in on the action, too. The platform is an entirely electric one, dubbed SPE, and it’s to be part of Volkswagen Group’s “third-wave” shift towards a fully electrified fleet.
However, the platform’s existence was only officially mentioned in VW’s capital markets presentation from November. The report shows SPE coming into play after the solidification of the initial MEB platform and the establishment of VW’s PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture — intended for luxury segment models after 2021. As the third phase of the group’s electrification strategy, SPE-based vehicles likely won’t enter production until 2025.
Beyond the architecture being intended for sporting models, the capital markets presentation doesn’t provide any detailed information. Fortunately, Automotive News was able to get a senior VW Group executive to confirm that Porsche will front SPE development “for two-door sports cars and supercars.”
Last year, VW Group said it intends to produce more than 80 new electrified models by 2025 — including about 50 purely battery-powered vehicles and 30 plug-in hybrids as part of its Roadmap E strategy. The automaker aims to equip each of its group models with a full-electric or plug-in hybrid powertrain before 2030.
That would still place Porsche’s Mission E, which is supposed to be ready next year, on a timeline far too early to take advantage of the new SPE platform. Instead, it will remain on the bespoke “J1” platform, hinting at what’s to come. (Not to spoil the ending, but it will be more electrification.)
As for the sporting EV platform, a VW Group spokesman said it was much too early to provide further details. “We do not want to comment on future projects in detail at the moment,” he said.
We can, of course, speculate to our heart’s content. Lamborghini unveiled mockups for its Terzo Millennio concept EV last year and Audi needs a replacement for the R8 e-tron. While neither of those models are a shoo-in, both brands have shown a clear interest in building battery-powered supercars. In the interim, MEB will underpin the VW brand’s upcoming I.D. brand, along with all EVs for Skoda, Seat, and Audi.
[Image: Porsche]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Sub-600 wants you to know: "You can be virtuous in style now."
I feel like at this point the mission E should already be out. Its starting to take NSX-like rollouts.