Former racing driver and Formula One star Mark Webber has given the thumbs-up to the all-electric Porsche Mission E sports car due to be revealed next year.
The Australian, who is an ambassador for Porsche after he drove for the brand’s motorsport team in the FIA World Endurance Championship for three seasons, was able to get a feel for the upcoming model at the German firm’s Weissach test track – making him one of the first people to get their hands on one of the eco-friendly performance road cars.
In a video released by Porsche, Webber was shown pushing the battery-powered model to the edge of the German track, but before getting in for a drive he was sceptical of how an all-electric Porsche would perform.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
The Mission E is fitted with an all-wheel-drive system, and if the drive system on board is the same as it was in the concept from 2015, the 800V set-up will produce 590bhp and could get the sports car over 300 miles between charges.
After getting back from his test run, Webber added: “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.”
