Piëch Automotive is an electric car manufacturer based in
Zug
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...
, Switzerland, founded in August 2017 by Anton "Toni" Piëch and
Rea Stark Rajcic.
History
Anton Piëch, son of
Ferdinand Piëch
Ferdinand Karl Piëch (; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2019) was an Austrian business magnate, engineer, and executive who held the positions of chairman of the executive board (''Vorstandsvorsitzender'') of the Volkswagen Group from 1993 to 2002 ...
, former CEO of the
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...
and great-grandson of
Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
, founded Piëch Automotive in 2017 with industrial designer Rea Stark Rajcic.
Piëch Automotive presented their first model, the GT Mark Zero (or Mk0), at the
2019 Geneva International Motor Show.
The particularity of Piëch Automotive's engineering is its modular concept, which makes it possible to keep software and hardware components up to date, in order to keep up with developments and technical progress, so the powertrain is interchangeable, while maintaining the structure and bodywork of the vehicle.
The entire vehicle concept is designed and engineered for lean manufacturing with external partners without vertically integrating any production in the company.
Mark Zero concept
The Piëch Mark Zero GT, whose first sketches date back to 2017, was presented as a concept car at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019.
Design
The car is a two-seater sports
coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
in the contemporary style. The first models should be delivered in 2022 equipped with electric motors and a battery positioned on the central tunnel as far as the rear axle, for a weight of 1,800 kg.
The Mark Zero will be able to accommodate thermal, hybrid or fuel cell powertrains thanks to its modular platform, which is planned to be used for an
SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...
and a "Piëch
sedan" in a second phase.
Motorization
The Mark Zero is equipped with three electric motors, a 150 kW asynchronous electric motor mounted on the front axle and two independent synchronous electric motors mounted on the rear axle of 150 kW each, providing a total power of 600 hp.
Piëch claims its innovative battery is 80% rechargeable in 4 min 40 s on a 380 kW fast terminal that has not yet been deployed in 2019, for a range of 500 km.
Reception
The design of the new car concept was mainly evaluated positively.
Klaus Schmidt for example, former sportscar developer of the
BMW M GmbH
BMW M GmbH, formerly known as BMW Motorsport GmbH, is a subsidiary of BMW AG that manufactures high-performance luxury cars.
BMW M ("M" for "motorsport") was initially created to facilitate BMW's racing program, which was very successful in t ...
, describes the design as ''unique''.
Production
In September 2021 the company began testing the Piëch GT4 and the car was expected to go into production mid-2024. The production version is expected to do zero to 60 mph in under three seconds, and 0 to 124 mph clocks less than nine seconds. Piëch says it is working with Chinese company TGOOD on a proprietary charger that can refill 80% of the battery in five minutes In June 2024 the model was updated with a new look with production starting for 2028.
[https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a61018498/piech-gt-concept-revealed/]
References
External links
Official Website of Piëch Automotive
{{Automotive industry in Switzerland
Car manufacturers of Switzerland
Battery electric vehicle manufacturers
Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers
Sports car manufacturers
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2017
Swiss brands
Electric vehicle manufacturers of Switzerland
Swiss companies established in 2017