Porsche announced that it has started testing the Mission R’s technology elements with the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance.
In a statement, the Stuttgart-headquartered marque said that the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance serves as a test vehicle as like the Mission R, the all-wheel drive vehicle shares the same chassis found on the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport model.
Porsche also said that in terms of lap times and top speed, the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance is on par with the current 992-generation 911 GT3 Cup’s performance.
The company shared that the entire electric motor and battery technology comes from the IAA conceptual study, which in qualification mode translates to a maximum output of 986 horses. In simulated racing, a steady 603hp is available for 30 minutes, which is the duration of a Carrera Cup race.
“With the Mission R, we’ve shown how Porsche envisages sustainable customer motor racing in the future. The 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance now demonstrates that this vision works impressively on the racetrack,” GT Racing Vehicle Project Manager Matthias Scholz was quoted as saying.
“We’re very excited about the response because a one-make cup with electric racing cars would be an important addition to our existing customer racing program.”
Aside from that, the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance’s fully electric drivetrain is based on a permanently excited synchronous machine (PESM) on the front and rear axles, which turns the vehicle into an all-wheel drive that can deliver a peak output of up to 1,073hp.
Further, GT4 ePerformance project manager Björn Förster said that the integration of the direct oil cooling system of the electric motor and battery pack significantly impacted the vehicle concept.
“With experts in the fields of aerodynamics and thermodynamics as well as high-voltage and bodywork specialists, the development team created an architecture to tap the full potential of the battery cells for the first time, since there is no thermal derating,” Förster explained.
“In this way, the power output in racing mode remains constant for half an hour.” Thanks to 900-volt technology, the state of charge (SoC) of the battery at full charging capacity jumps from 5 to 80 per cent in about 15 minutes,” he added.
Moreover, around 6,000 parts of the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance were designed from scratch and the vehicle is 14 centimeters wider than the Clubsport version. The body is made up of natural composite materials.
Porsche noted that the recycled carbon fibers are also used for testing purposes.
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance will have its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 23-26 by joining the 1.9-kilometer hill climb event. Its second outing is on August 20 at the Porsche Leipzig factory’s 20th anniversary
Furthermore, the two 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance demo vehicles will travel around the world starting in various European countries before going to North America in 2023. The tour will conclude in the middle of 2024 in the Asia-Pacific region.
“The 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance blazes a trail to Porsche customer racing with electrically-powered racing cars. As a first step, we will unveil this concept to our global partners,” 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance Project Manager Oliver Schwab said.
“With drivers, teams, organisers, authorities and other interested parties, we’re also gathering ideas for Porsche racing formats in the future,” he added.
Porsche is eyeing to be carbon neutral across the entire value chain and life cycle of new cars sold by 2030 and the proportion of all new vehicles featuring all-electric drive should be more than 80 percent.
Photos from Porsche
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