Piëch Automotive presents a study of a new, puristic electric sports car called the Piëch Mark Zero

 

 

Meet Piëch Mark Zero – a vehicle that brings the fascination of a sports car into the electric era.

Piëch Automotive, the German-Swiss vehicle manufacturer based in Zurich and Munich, celebrates the world premiere of the new Piëch Mark Zero electric sports car in Geneva. The purely electric GT with a range of 500 km (311 miles) (WLTP) is presented at the Geneva Motor Show 2019.

Three and a half years ago, the founders and owners of Piëch Automotive, Toni Piëch and Co-CEO/Creative Director Rea Stark Rajcic had the idea to develop a new, flexible vehicle architecture.

Piëch Mark Zero’s flexible and open vehicle architecture allows the use of a variety of drive systems – like electric drive, hybrid, fuel cell or internal combustion engine. The entirely new type of battery cell hardly heats up during charging and discharging phases; it features a high rate of recuperation and can be charged up to 80% in 4:40 minutes. This means that fast charging takes only marginally more time than filling up a conventional car with petrol.

“It’s our aim to support the emotional driving experience with up-to-date technology. It’s meant to help the driver but not distract him. And it’s about the real sports car feeling: driving, not being driven! Of course, the vehicle architecture is geared towards autonomous driving, but we’ll keep that for later models,” said Piëch Automotive Creative head Stark Rajcic.

Thanks to the placement of the batteries (one in the centre tunnel, the rest at the rear axle), weight distribution and handling are expected to be similar to that of a conventional sports car with a combustion engine. In contrast to the widespread placement under the floor, this allows a low seating position typical of a sports car as well as precise handling, giving the driver immediate feedback.

According to the sports car manufacturer, “the Piëch Mark Zero will be developed and produced strictly to German quality standards. The decision about manufacturing partners will be announced at a later stage.” The company said that it has three vehicle variants in mind: a two-seater, a four-seater, and a sporty SUV. Other concepts like convertibles or pick-ups are also conceivable.

Because of the reduced heat build-up, the batteries can be cooled by air alone. This contributes to an overall weight reduction of around 200 kg, resulting in a total vehicle weight of under 1,800 kg. At the front axle, an asynchronous motor delivers 150 kW, while at the rear axle, two synchronous motors produce 150 kW each – guaranteeing typical sports car feeling.

Thanks to the modular concept, vehicles made by Piëch Automotive can be kept up-to-date over a long period of time as both the software and hardware (like for example the blocks of battery cells) can be updated or replaced as needed. At the same time, the modular structure allows a wide choice of drive systems: conventional internal combustion engine, different kinds of hybrids, true electric drive or fuel cell – all these drive systems can be realized using the same vehicle architecture. In the next step, this modular structure is also to be offered to other manufacturers in B2B business, said Piëch Automotive in a statement.