Porsche Working On 300 Mile AWD Electric Car

Tesla Motors may have yet another competitor, and this time it isn’t a computer company. Porsche is reportedly developing a vehicle that will give Tesla a run for their money. A report from CarMagazine has stated Porsche is working on an all-electric, all-wheel-drive vehicle. The car was previously expected to be the latest offering of the Panamera line, however, the name for the mysterious vehicle is reportedly the Porsche 717.

CarMagazine also reported that the battery will resemble a, “…mountain range with the center tunnel acting as peak ridge, with a pair of tall bulkhead walls and smaller agglomerations in the sills, the footwell and the overhangs.” The not-yet-developed electric vehicle (EV) is expected to offer 400, 500 and 600 BHP models in order to match the performance of the Tesla Motors fleet. One eye-opening piece of news about this vehicle is the potential range. Estimates for the range of the fully electric vehicle have been projected at around 200 miles, which wouldn’t be competitive even with the likely much lower priced Chevy Bolt. However, CarMagazine has reported that the Porsche will have a range “north of 300 miles,” or better than any EV currently in production.

However, will 300 miles of range be enough? Tesla has already announced range increase for the Tesla Roadster, and eventually the Model S. The Chevy Bolt will debut with a 200 plus mile range. In four years, will a 300-mile range be outstanding or just par for the course? Will Porsche adapt to the vehicles that are released before their tentative unveiling in 2019? Another underlying aspect of this potential vehicle from Porsche is just how much Tesla has disrupted the global automotive market. Who would think that Porsche is working on creating a vehicle to compete with a company that wasn’t even in existence until 2003?

How much does Tesla setting the electric vehicle standard impact dealerships? Would they have made it this far without government help? Do you think that Porsche will come up with a better EV than Tesla?