Electric car startup Piëch Automotive, named for legendary Volkswagen executive (and grandson of the founder of Porsche) Ferdinand Piëch, arrived at the Geneva Motor Show this week with an electric supercar and an interesting story to tell. According to the company, the all-electric Mark Zero is powered by a new type of battery that will recharge to 80 percent in less than five minutes. If true, that represents a pretty incredible breakthrough in battery technology. But until we see some independent proof of this, we’ll reserve judgment.
Here’s how Piëch, which was co-founded by Ferdinand Piëch’s son Anton “Toni” Piëch along with Rea Stark Rajcic, describes its new battery tech:
The special type of cell hardly heats up during charging or discharging phases. Significantly higher currents can flow as the cell temperature rises only marginally. In addition to conventional CSC charging, the fast charging mode allows for a sensationally short charging time of only 4:40 minutes to 80% battery capacity with an exceptionally high recuperation rate. Because of the reduced heat build-up, the batteries can be cooled by air alone.
This method of air cooling helps Piëch to shave off 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of the vehicle’s total weight. This keeps the weight under 1,800 kilograms (4,000 pounds), which is still fairly heavy for a vehicle of that size.
And with a charging time way below most conventional EVs, the company is promising to bring recharging time on par with the time it takes to refill a conventional car with gasoline or diesel. When charged to a full 100 percent, the Mark Zero is able to deliver a full 311 miles (500 km) of range in the EU’s new WLTP cycle.
As for the powertrain, Piëch says that the vehicle is equipped with three electric motors: one front-axle asynchronous motor which delivers 150 kW, and two rear-axle synchronous motors to produce 150 kW each.
There is speculation that Piëch could be the unnamed buyer of Aston Martin’s Vanquish intellectual property, but no confirmation. Last year, the luxury automaker sold the tooling and design drawings for its outgoing Vanquish supercar for £20 million ($26 million) to a “third-party car manufacturer,” and since then rumors have been circulating about the mysterious buyer. (Another possible candidate, Morgan, denied being the buyer to Automotive News last year, despite announcing plans to build a new model with specs that practically mirror those of the Vanquish.)
There have been plenty of sky-high promises about batteries from EV startups over the years, but not much in the way of breakthroughs. That said, there’s plenty of room for improvement in the battery technology that powers electric cars. Tesla’s cars boast impressive speed and performance, but it’s not possible to fully charge the car in under an hour, even at one of the company’s many so-called “Supercharger” stations.
Piëch’s battery partner is the Hong Kong-based Desten Group, while China’s Qingdao Tgood Electric Company will contribute to the company’s plans for a charging infrastructure.
Piëch Automotive says the Mark Zero is the first in a “family of products” to be launched by the company over the next three years. The car’s vehicle architecture is “flexible and open,” which the startup says allows for a variety of drive systems like electric, hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell, or even old, polluting internal combustion engines.
The company says that they will announce a manufacturing partner later this year to bring the vehicle to market, to be followed by a four-seater and a sporty SUV.
