With the whole world making the shift to alternate power sources instead of the traditional fossil fuels, major firms are already in the race to come up with their own iterations of the EV. VW Group has now commissioned Porsche to build an all-electric supercar platform, to hit the streets post-2025.
As part of its ambitious Roadmap E project, Volkswagen Group is setting its subsidiaries to task with specific goals that will help the automotive giant boast of a big range of all-electric and hybrid vehicles by the end of next decade. Porsche has taken up the responsibility of preparing a platform that will underpin future electric performance and supercars. The platform will purportedly be used by Audi and Lamborghini.
Christened SPE, this will be VAG's third purpose-built platform for electric cars. In addition to Porsche EVs, the architecture could also support a more affordable version of Audi's electric R8 E-Tron supercar. It could also help Lamborghini take the plunge into the electric supercar industry. The raging bull just unveiled their latest take on how an electric supercar should be with the Terzio Millennio concept back in November 2017.
A senior VW Group executive familiar with the project confirmed that Porsche indeed received the assignment to develop an EV platform "for two-door sportscars and supercars." Details on the super EVs are still scarce, as questions like whether the cars will employ an electric motor at each axle or an additional motor for faster acceleration, what kind of batteries will be used, or what ballpark the performance figures will be in are still unanswered. 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.
VAG's other platforms are the MEB and PPE. The MEB (Modular Electrification Toolkit) will underpin VW's upcoming I.D. family of cars, along with electric vehicles for Skoda, Seat, and Audi. The PPE (Premium Platform Electric), under development jointly by Audi and Porsche will be employed for three new EV families.
A Porsche spokeswoman informed that Porsche is currently ramping up production capacity for its J1 platform that will bring the Mission E sedan on the road next year. J1 will be followed immediately by PPE, after which the exciting SPE will arrive. The timeframe on its launch is unclear as of yet, with the spokeswoman commenting that it is "too far away" to provide concrete details.
VAG's Roadmap E initiative is ambitious, with a goal of 80 new electrified models earmarked to be put on the road by 2025. Additionally, the group also plans to equip each of its 300 models with an electric or plug-in hybrid drivetrain by 2030.
