Founded in 2016 by Anton Piëch, son of Ferdinand Piëch, the former almighty lord of the Volkswagen Group and great grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, and Rea Stark Rajcic, Piëch Automotive went to the Geneva Motor Show to reveal the prototype of its first model, the Mark Zero.
The Mark Zero presents itself as a GT of two doors and two seats 100% electric, and, contrary to what happens with most electric cars, it doesn't resort to a platform type “skateboard” as the Tesla do. Instead, the Piëch Automotive prototype is based on a modular platform.
Due to this platform, the batteries appear along the central tunnel and on the rear axle instead of being on the floor of the car as is the norm. The reason for this difference lies in the possibility that this platform can also accommodate internal combustion engines, hybrids or serve as a basis for models powered by hydrogen, and it is also possible to exchange the batteries.
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According to Piëch Automotive, the Mark Zero offers a 500 km range (according to the WLTP cycle). However, the biggest point of interest is in the type of batteries that offer all this autonomy.
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Without revealing what technology these batteries use, Piëch Automotive claims that these heat up little during the charging process. This allows charging them using a higher electrical current, leading the brand to claim that it is possible to charge up to 80% in just… 4:40 min in quick charge mode.
Thanks to the scarce heating of the batteries, Piëch Automotive was also able to give up the heavy (and expensive) water-cooling systems as well, being only air cooled — air cooled in the 21st century, apparently…
According to the brand, this allowed save about 200kg , with the Mark Zero announcing a weight of around 1800 kg for its prototype.
One, two… three engines
According to the technical specifications revealed by Piëch Automotive, the Mark Zero has three electric motors, one placed on the front axle and two on the rear axle, each of which delivers 150 kW of power (these values are the goals established by the brand), equivalent to 204 hp each.
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This allows the Mark Zero to meet the 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.2s and reach a maximum speed of 250 km/h. Although there is still no confirmation, it seems that Piëch Automotive is thinking of developing a saloon and an SUV based on the Mark Zero platform.
