Porsche’s all-electric Mission E is a ‘game changer’, says pro-driver Mark Webber after test drive

There are not many people who had the chance to drive the Mission E, Porsche’s first all-electric vehicle, but pro-driver Mark Webber is one of them and he gave his impressions after a day at the track with one of the latest prototypes.

Now Webber works for Porsche so he is not exactly an unbiased party, but I still think his comments, especially his comparisons with other Porsche vehicles, were interesting.

Here’s what he had to say after a Mission E test drive at Porsche’s test track in Weissach:

“I’ve got many Porsche moments that will stay with me forever – winning the WEC in the 919 Hybrid would be one – and I think I’ve just experienced another: driving the Mission E for the first time.

It’s a game changer, this car. Quite literally, it is stealth in motion.

Still clearly a Porsche, it actually kept reminding me of the 919, as there were times were we could drive our Le Mans racer on E-Motor alone.

The gorgeous view from inside the cockpit over the front wheel arches is pure 918 and the way the four-wheel drive system puts its 600 hp down simply sensational.

I’m a bit of an old-school kind of guy and I love nothing more than to drive so I don’t mind admitting I had some reservations. I thought that the Mission E could feel a little heavy but the driving experience is seriously dynamic: the four-wheel steering, the performance and the braking ability were a really amazing experience.

I’ve driven lots of cars over the years that I’ve fallen for but the Mission E really stands out. I’m looking forward to driving it a lot more in the future.”

Here’s a video that Porsche released about his test drive:

Porsche says that they are aiming for the vehicle to have “over 310 miles of range” (500 km) on a single charge, but they announced that back when it was based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), which is much more forgiving than the EPA rating and doesn’t really reflect real-world range. It’s should still have a more than decent range of more than 250 miles.

Though the automaker is also rumored to be aiming to offer different range options with different battery packs, it’s not clear if 250 miles is the base or top option – hopefully, it’s the minimum.

The company has previously been talking about a 0 to 60 mph acceleration in 3.5 seconds and earlier this year, a Porsche executive said that the Mission E will be able to go long distances at high-speed, like traveling on the German autobahn, or to complete a few laps on the race track.

The Mission E is expected to hit production next year.