Production Porsche Mission E Priced Around $85,000 in 2019; 80-percent Charge Takes 15 Minutes

“It is very close to what you saw two years ago at Frankfurt,” Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says of the forthcoming production version of 2015’s stunning Mission E Concept.

“It will be exciting but a bit different from the concept,” Blume told CAR Magazine at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

That’s for beholders to gauge once the production version of the Mission E is pictured in 2019, when the model arrives exclusively with electric powertrains. Oliver Blume did, however, make clearer commitments relative to the Mission E that will delight Porschephiles and — perhaps — convert Tesla fans.

Right from launch, the Porsche Mission E — likely a 2020 model year vehicle — will be marketed with a 350 kW charge rate that “will be enough for a 400-kilometer range on an 80 percent charge,” Blume says. That’s 250 miles of range from a 15-minute charge. All of this in a car that Porsche claims accelerates from rest to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and tops 155 mph, a car Porsche couldn’t have developed “so quickly without the 919” — the automaker’s Le Mans-winning hybrid endurance racer.

Porsche’s CEO says the company is in the final engineering phases for the Mission E, a car the company sees as filling the void in between the Panamera and 911. At least to start, the production Mission E — which Porsche calls a “fascinating sports car” — will be positioned alongside its sports car and sedan bookends. It will, says Porsche, be “priced like entry-level Panamera.”

Including delivery, Porsche USA’s entry-level Panamera starts at $86,050. The basic Porsche 911 Carrera is a $92,150 car.

Porsche says the Mission E’s fully charged range will be 300 miles, but the company is considering different power outputs — expect S and GTS models, for example — which will presumably alter the range. The dual-motor format promises all-wheel drive. Different bodystyles are also under consideration.

Presently, the least costly Tesla Model S is the $69,500 rear-wheel drive 75 with 249 miles of range and a 4.3-second 0-60 time. Tesla also markets the $74,500 75D (with slightly more range and all-wheel drive), the $94,000 100D (335-mile range, 0-60 in 4.1), and the $135,000 P100D, which drops range by 20 miles but cuts the 0-60 time to a claimed 2.5 seconds.

At launch, however, faithfulness to 2015’s concept could end up as just as strong a selling point as the Porsche badge or Model S-baiting acceleration figures. Few and far between are cars with enough drama to match the Mission E’s eye-catching design.

[Images: Porsche]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars and Instagram.