Audi and Porsche may both be brands in the Volkswagen Group, though they’re staunchly independent. In fact, up until last year were even competing against each other in top-level motorsport.
Nevertheless, they also collaborate on projects when it suits them. This has involved the sharing of parts and even whole vehicle platforms. Now, Audi and Porsche will join forces to develop a next-generation vehicle platform, one ready to meet the challenges of the automotive landscape of the future: namely, electrification, digitization and self-driving capability.
In the coming months, joint teams will prepare the specific areas of cooperation and define the roadmap as far as 2025. The focus will be on the joint development of a platform plus various modules and components. Each area of collaboration will be jointly developed by a representative from both Audi and Porsche.
Further details will be released at a later date but there’s a good chance that the platform being developed for Porsche’s electric sedan based on the Mission E concept will pivotal. The platform, code-named the J1, is a dedicated electric car platform for high-performance cars offering a range of over 300 miles and an 800-volt charging system enabling 80 percent of the battery to be charged in just 15 minutes.
Audi has its own electric car platform, the C-BEV, which debuts in the automaker’s e-tron electric SUV arriving in 2018. However, this isn’t a dedicated electric car platform as it’s derived from the VW Group’s current MLB design. It also misses out on the 800-volt charging system currently in the works. The VW Group also has the MEB dedicated electric car platform though this is designed for smaller, mainstream cars.
If the platform in question is the J1 of the production Mission E, then it’s likely Audi’s role in the partnership will be to integrate self-driving technology. Audi is working closely with Nvidia on the technology and will be the first automaker with a Level 3 self-driving car when its redesigned A8 debuts this summer.
Stay tuned for an update.
