Electric car startup Piëch Automotive brought its first car to Geneva Motor Show 2019. The Piëch Mark Zero is an all-electric grand tourer outputting 603hp.
Story of Piëch Automotive
Piëch Automotive is named after famed Volkswagen executive Ferdinand Piëch, who also happens to be Ferdinand Porsche's grandson. Piëch's son Anton "Toni" co-founded the EV startup along with Rea Stark Rajcic. The Piëch name already has cachet and legacy. All that remains is to actually see the beautiful Mark Zero driving in the real world.Piëch's Battery Breakthrough
The Piëch Mark Zero's claim to fame is its incredible battery technology. The startup claims this EV can recharge its batteries up to 80 percent in less than five minutes. All we know is until and unless we see it happening in real life, we are not inclined to believe it just yet. As it stands, even Tesla cars cannot be fully charged under an hour, despite plugged into the firm's Superchargers.The co-founders describe the Piëch Mark Zero's battery tech as a setup that is highly resistant to heating up. “The special type of cell hardly heats up during charging or discharging phases. Significantly higher currents can flow as the cell temperature rises only marginally. In addition to conventional CSC charging, the fast charging mode allows for a sensationally short charging time of only 4:40 minutes to 80% battery capacity with an exceptionally high recuperation rate. Because of the reduced heat build-up, the batteries can be cooled by air alone.”
Air-cooled batteries mean that Piëch managed to shave off 200kg of weight from the Mark Zero. However, it is still quite a heavy car at 1,800kg. The Italian startup is promising to bring recharging times on par with the time it takes to refill a conventional car with fuel.
Piëch Mark Zero: Specifications
Piëch Automotive has fitted its first car with three electric motors. the first asynchronous motor sits over the front axle and produces 150kW (201hp). Two synchronous motors affixed to the rear axle also produce 150kW each, bringing the total output to a respectable 603hp.Rumours are also floating around that Piëch is the mystery buyer for Aston Martin's Vanquish intellectual property. There is no confirmation or denial from either party as of yet. Piëch also says the Mark Zero is the first in a "family of products" scheduled for launch over the next three years. Following the all-electric GT, a four-seater sedan and an SUV will make it to production.
