One of the concepts that made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year and some of us missed noticing was this Piëch Mark Zero. It’s a new brand from none other than Toni Piëch, a member of the Porsche-Piëch dynasty and son of the former VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch. However, it is important to note that Piëch Automotive doesn’t fall under the VW Group umbrella.
With that out of the way, let’s talk a bit about the car. The Mark Zero is designed by Hungarian designer Laszlo Varga, who heads the brand’s design department under Creative Director Rea Stark Rajcic. One Google search will tell you that Varga has a thing for Jaguar E-Type and classic cars in general. He says that he wanted to incorporate the clean and round surfaces, typical of the ’60s and ’70s designs. According to him, the inspiration also came from the Ferrari 250 GTO, Shelby Daytona, and Shelby Cobra.
There’s no denying that the inspiration came from Aston Martins and Zagatos as well. The car measures 4,432 mm in length, 1,991 mm in width (excluding mirrors), and 1,250 mm in height. The wheelbase measures 2,620 mm. Target weight is under 1,800 kg (3,968 lbs). Just to remind, the Mark Zero is a pure electric GT. However, the Piëch brand is not keen on being exclusive to EVs, the company might use Mark Zero’s “flexible and open vehicle architecture” (modular architecture) for hybrid, fuel cell, or even ICE-powered vehicles in the future.
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For Mark Zero’s battery pack, Piëch has partnered with Hong Kong’s Desten Group. According to Piëch, the special type of cell hardly heats up during charging or discharging phases. Thanks to the reduced heat build-up, the batteries can be cooled by air alone, contributing to an overall weight reduction of around 200 kg (441 lbs), the company said. In addition to the conventional CSC charging, the fast charging mode is claimed to enable a short charging time of just 4:40 minutes to 80% battery capacity.
The Piëch Mark Zero is powered by three electric motors; an asynchronous motor at the front axle and two synchronous motors at the rear axle. All three produce 150 kW (204 metric hp) each, meaning, the Mark Zero offers more than 610 metric hp. Piëch expects a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time of 3.2 seconds, while the top speed is limited to 250 km/h (155 mph). The WLTP range target is 500 km (310 mi).
Heading the brand’s Engineering department is Klaus Schmidt, who spent more than 30 years at BMW M, and later at China’s Qoros. Schmidt is responsible for the car’s handling and dynamics. Unlike the conventional placement under the floor, the batteries are housed in the centre tunnel and at the rear axle, for weight distribution and handling similar to that of a conventional sports car with a combustion engine. This placement according to the company, allows a low seating position typical of a sports car as well as precise handling giving the driver immediate feedback.
As for production, Piëch is looking for a contract manufacturer and will be “produced strictly to German quality standards”.
Sources: Piëch, Laszlo Varga, 1, 2
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