When it comes to very high-end electrified supercars, manufacturers tend to offer just one all-encompassing trim level that has everything the car needs, apart from maybe a few optional extras that can be specified if the buyer really wants them. Think Ferrari La Ferrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918, for example.
Things are changing though, and according to Autocar, expected customer demand for the eagerly-anticipated Mission E appears to be making Porsche have a rethink. And we now expect the all-electric Porsche to be offered in a number of different variants.
Even relatively mainstream electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars often used to just come in one model, but now the likes of Ford offer almost as many trim levels of something like the Fusion in its electrified forms as it does with the regular models.
The Mission E will be the first foray into the all-electric car world for the famed German luxury automaker, and it's no surprise the electric performance sedan is seen as a direct competitor to the current supremacy of Tesla in this area of the market.
The Porsche hasn't even had its final name confirmed yet, but the company's first new model since the Macan was introduced in 2014 is expected to go on sale in 2019 or 2020 in a number of different variants.
Porsche wants to sell something like 20,000 units per year of the Mission E, which doesn't sound too ambitious, considering the success of models like the Tesla Model S already.
But despite being an EV, all versions of the Mission E will still focus on performance first and foremost. Each of the two axels will have its own electric motor, and as the concept version develops an impressive 600 horsepower and 663 lb.-ft. of torque, the Porsche should prove a worthy rival to what Tesla currently has to offer.
