大众集团旗下的两大豪车品牌——保时捷和宾利，正计划共享先进技术，促进纯电动车的量产。两家公司的计划类似，其电动车的目标续航里程均为500 km（310英里）、超高加速性能、15-20分钟内以800V的电压充饱电池。

保时捷公司董事长Oliver Blume博士已在一次重要讲话中确认，2015年法兰克福车展上亮相的概念车Mission E将在2020年左右开始生产。宾利的负责人Kevin Rose则告诉《汽车工程杂志》，其两座概念车EXP10 Speed 6已经基本确定将实现量产，而且可能会推出一款纯电动版本。

宾利还有可能推出其他车型的纯电动版。“纯电动技术的某些特性非常符合宾利的要求，比如驾驶时很安静、加速很轻松，高扭矩下操控反应速度极快。”Rose表示这些特性都会在Mission E的全轮驱动车型上实现。

估计除了“安静”以外，上述这些特性也对保时捷产生了很大的吸引力。保时捷已宣布在其位于斯图加特市祖文豪森的工厂中斥资7亿欧元建造生产设施，其中就包括电动机的生产装备。

大众对集团一向非常热衷于整合内部技术以获得协同效应，因此有推测认为，保时捷和宾利可能在电机和某些硬件上展开合作，而保时捷和其姐妹公司奥迪之间也会共享电池模块技术。不过也许事实并非如此，尽管具体方案还未对外宣布并落实，但保时捷的新闻发言人已经强调：“我们研发的电机仅为保时捷所用。”

Mission E车型将使用2台电机，前后桥各一台。但除此之外，保时捷和宾利都还没有进一步介绍更多细节。

保时捷还未正式宣布目标产量和计划定价，但估计年产量在20,000辆左右，定价水平可能与911系列的高端车型价位相当。Mission E车型的直接竞争对手将是特斯拉。

大众最近遭遇排放门危机，对许多项目和公司成本都造成了负面影响，但可以预测的是，高级电动汽车的研发工作肯定不会因此停顿。

这些研发工作将与奥迪的综合充电系统（CCS）相结合，CCS可在充电30分钟后支持车辆行驶400km （249英里）以上，该技术现已应用于限量生产的奥迪R8 e-tron和e-tron quattro概念车。

在德国巴登巴登刚刚举行的ELIV大会（汽车电子设备大会）上，奥迪与包括保时捷在内的合作伙伴们一起进行了一场有关适用150 kW电源的充电接口（CharINev）的展示。其中提到，CCS采用一种标准的交流—直流联合充电接口，这可以让充电变得更容易。

但是，这意味着用户还是需要在公路上找充电站，或者在家里或公司里用电源充电。宾利的Rose表示，现在的许多PHEV车主并不喜欢使用这种系统，因为很麻烦。

这个问题可以通过感应充电解决，但宾利的用户可能会有机会尝试一种更有趣的充电方式，Rose说：“如果我们要打造全电动的宾利车，我们肯定会为车主解决充电问题。”

这种服务专为宾利用户设计，是宾利电动车独享的充电方式。具体来说，只要条件允许，无论车停在哪里，都能进行充电。他认为，这种方案对大规模生产的车型来说肯定不容易实现，但对产量极少的超级豪车宾利而言却是可行的。

保时捷斥巨资投建的工厂，除了电机制造设施外，还包括了全新的涂装车间和总装厂。现有车身工厂也将进行扩建，而且保时捷的威斯萨赫研发中心也将获得新一轮的投资。这些扩张计划将带来1000多个工程、设计和技术领域的新工作岗位。

保时捷将扩大产能视为当前的首要任务之一，公司监事会主席沃尔夫冈·保时捷表示：“我们希望借助Mission E来展示保时捷品牌未来的方向。”他说，Mission E是一辆“迷人的跑车”。它确实当得起这个形容，只不过量产车型将在概念车基础上进行怎样的改变，目前还是未知数。

保时捷的Panamera总长为5015mm（197.4英寸），而Mission E的长度也达到了4850mm（190.9英寸），但该车高度仅为1300mm（51.2英寸）。因此保时捷称，Mission E比较接近四门911，与GT赛车（Gran Turismo）相比，它更像是一辆四座跑车。

此外，保时捷还有另外一个目标，就是确保Mission E既能在城市里行驶，也具备远距离行驶的能力和“源源不断”加速能力。“在允许的范围内，驾驶员可以反复加速，车辆性能却不会下降。”保时捷的技术部门发言人表示。

Mission E的功率输出为440kW，从0到100公里/时（62mph）加速时间3.5秒，从0到200公里/时（124mph）加速时间为12秒。锂离子电池充满电后续航里程可达500公里，充电15分钟后电量可达80%，续航里程为400公里。Mission E可采用地面感应线圈进行无线充电。

Mission E的传动系统中有2台永磁同步电机，该技术源自于保时捷为勒芒拉力赛冠军919混合动力车研发的传动系统。据悉，这两台电机“即便在较短时间内进行多次加速”，依然可以开足马力。他还补充道，Mission E概念车在纽博格林赛道上的单圈行驶时间为不到8分钟。

Mission E的电池位于车身底板下方两桥之间的位置，呈纵向放置。前后桥各有一个电机进行驱动。

Mission E概念车的车身外壳由铝、钢和碳纤维制成，量产车也将采用类似材料，但各种材料的使用比例还未确定。

Mission E的车身设计非常独特，后门采用反向开门设计，因此省掉了B柱。但这种构造可能会影响抗扭刚度，影响乘员安全。不知保时捷是否已经找到解决这一问题的办法，并在量产车上进行应用，让我们拭目以待。

Mission E的空气动力学设计中包括一些与车身进行了整合的导流构建，可用来减少车轮附近的湍流。保时捷称，该车的前大灯为一种“新型的”矩阵LED。

另一项重要的设计是用安装在前翼子板上的摄像系统来取代车门上的反光镜。当然这牵涉到是否符合不同国家法规要求的问题。作为大众汽车集团的旗下一员，Mission E将借鉴大众超紧凑车型XL1所采用的系统。去除后视镜的一大好处就是大大提升了车辆的风阻系数。摄像系统的显示屏位于挡风玻璃下方角落处，可以同时显示其他安全信息。

驾驶舱的细节设计包括为各仪表配备的OLED（有机发光二极管），采用跟踪眼球运动的摄像头可侦测到驾驶员在看哪块仪表板，接着驾驶员就可以通过方向盘上的一个按钮来激活并操作这块仪表板上的菜单。如果驾驶座的高度改变了，整块仪表板也会“跟着”驾驶员进行调整，以保证方向盘不会阻挡驾驶员看到仪表板上的信息。

该车仪表板可谓是一系列先进技术的荟萃，其中包括一个全息显示系统，可以用虚拟3D效果显示各种应用程序界面，将其按重要程度顺序排列在虚拟空间中。此外，驾驶员还可以通过手势进行功能选择。

无论是保时捷还是宾利，都将把超奢华电动汽车提升到全新高度——飞速行驶，飞速充电。

作者：Stuart Birch
来源：SAE《汽车工程杂志》
翻译：SAE 上海办公室

Porsche and Bentley plan electric future

Porsche and Bentley, two of the Volkswagen Group’s star premium performance players and now positioned to share advanced technologies, are heading for pure-electric production models, each targeting 500-km (310-mi) range, huge acceleration capability, and 15-20 min 800-V battery charging times.

In a major statement, Porsche Chairman Dr. Oliver Blume has confirmed that its Mission E concept seen at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show will be in production by about 2020, and Bentley Director Kevin Rose told Automotive Engineering that the two-seat Bentley EXP10 Speed 6 concept, which looks set to become a production reality, may be offered with a pure-electric powertrain as an option.

Other Bentley models may also be available in pure electric form. “There are aspects of all-electric technology that are very Bentley, including quiet running, effortless acceleration, and almost instant high-torque delivery,” said Rose. These assets would be delivered via all-wheel drive as they are on the Mission E.

With the possible exception of “quiet,” all this is the parallel thinking at Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, where Porsche has announced a €700 million spend on production facilities that will include manufacture of electric motors.

With VW’s avid enthusiasm for technology synergies where appropriate across the Group, motor expertise and possibly some hardware could be expected to be shared between Porsche and Bentley (and battery modules between Porsche and sister company Audi), although no detailed decisions have yet been reached—or at least announced—and a Porsche spokesman underlined: “The electric motors we develop will be reserved for Porsche specifically.”

Mission E uses two electric motors, one for each axle. But neither company is going into specific details yet.

Official production targets and likely pricing have not been released, but some 20,000 units per annum and a sticker price around that of higher end 911s look likely, with Mission E tussling with Tesla.

The scheduled introduction of the Mission E indicates that the emissions crisis faced by VW and the resultant costs to the company with inevitable knock-on effects to many projects, will apparently not stymie such advanced electric R&D work.

These electric developments mesh to some degree with Audi’s work on a Combined Charging Systems (CCS) that will offer a range of over 400 km (249 mi) after 30 min. Technology of this type has been fitted to the limited-production Audi R8 e-tron and e-tron quattro concept.

At the recent ELIV (Electronics in Vehicles) Congress in Baden-Baden, Germany, Audi made a presentation together with its partners (including Porsche) in the Charging Interface Initiative (CharINev) suitable for charging with 150-kW power. CCS facilitates charging of electric cars with AC or DC using a standardized charging interface combo plug.

This still means finding a power source along the highway and also using one at home or office. Bentley’s Rose said that indications at present point to many PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) owners not wanting the hassle of plugging in such systems.

Induction charging could be the answer, but Bentley customers may be offered an interesting solution, according to Rose: “If we had all-electric Bentleys, one thing we could do would be to take the power to them.”

This would be a service to individually charge a Bentley owner’s electric car’s batteries wherever (within reason) it was parked. Not something that would be feasible for high-volume models, he agrees, but a possibility for Bentley’s very low, super premium EVs.

As well as electric motor production, Porsche’s big spend will see a new paint shop commissioned and a new assembly plant built. The present body shop is also being expanded, and Porsche’s R&D center at Weissach is receiving new investment. Around 1000 extra engineering, design, and technician jobs will be created.

The company regards the expansion as an indication of its priorities. Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, stated: “With Mission E, we are making a clear statement about the future of the brand.” He describes it as a “fascinating sports car.” It certainly promises to be, although just how much of the concept will be carried over to the production car is not fixed.

At 4850 mm (190.9 in) long versus 5015 mm (197.4 in) for the Porsche Panamera, but only about 1300 mm (51.2 in) tall, the Mission E is regarded by the company as having a character akin to that of a four-door 911, making it more a four-seat sports car than a GT (Gran Turismo).

Porsche also puts emphasis on the car being day-to-day usable in urban environments as well as having long distance capability and “reproducible” acceleration. “The driver should be able to again and again accelerate and not suffer any degradation in performance (up to a point, of course),” said Porsche’s technology spokesman.

Power output is 440 kW with 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) capability of 3.5 s and 0-200 km/h (0-124 mph) in 12 s. A 100% charge of its lithium-ion batteries would provide a 500-km range but a 15 min, 80% charge would be sufficient for 400 km. The car is being engineered to be recharged by ground-installed induction coils.

The powertrain, incorporating two permanent magnet synchronous motors, will be based on technology developed for Porsche’s Le Mans race winning 919 hybrid. They are said to be able to deliver full power “even after multiple accelerations at short intervals,” adding that the Mission E concept’s lap time of the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife is under 8 min.

Battery position is underfloor longitudinal, stretching between both axles, each of which is driven by an electric motor.

The concept’s bodyshell comprises aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber; the production car’s is likely to be similar although the proportional make-up of materials is not certain.

The body style of the Emission E is highly distinctive with rearward pivoting rear doors (counter-opening) which obviate the need for a B-pillar. That configuration can bring torsional rigidity challenges and raise questions of passenger safety, so it will be interesting to see if solutions are found and both aspects make it to production.

Aerodynamic details of Mission E include integrated air guides to reduce turbulence around its wheels. Headlights are described as a “new type” of matrix LED.

Another significant design feature is the use of camera systems (mounted in the front fenders) to replace door mirrors. Again, it is a matter of whether they meet legal criteria in all markets. As a member of the Volkswagen Group, the car will benefit from experience gained via a similar system used for the ultra-low-volume VW XL1. The big plus is the benefit to the car’s Cd figure. The screens, placed in the lower corners of the windshield, can display other safety information too.

Cabin details include use of OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) for instruments. An eye-tracking camera detects at which instrument the driver is looking. The driver can then activate and navigate the menu of the instrument when appropriate via a button on the steering wheel. The whole instrument display “follows” the driver if seat height is changed, so ensuring the steering wheel does not block information.

The dashboard is a veritable party piece of technologies including a holographic display showing virtual apps stacked in virtual space and arranged by priority with a 3D effect. Gesture control is also used for function selection.

For both Porsche and Bentley, super premium electric promises to take on a new dimension: fast cars and fast chargers.

Author: Stuart Birch
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine