Ferdinand Piëch is basically a godfather of the modern automotive industry, launching Audi into the luxury automaker it is today and turning the Volkswagen Group into a mighty car conglomerate. His son is taking the family name and building electric cars now, apparently.
Oh, and let’s not forget, the Piëch family is a branch of the Porsche family. Yes, that Porsche family. Ferdinand Piëch got his name from his grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, and this Piëch is the latest in a long line of car-making and car-company-owning Piëchs and Porsches.
Piëch Automotive, which is Swiss, was founded back in 2016 by Anton, son of Ferdinand Piëch, with business partner Rea Stark Rajcic according to German news pub NTV. The company plans to introduce its first concept car, the all-electric Mark Zero, at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March.
Auto Express says that the company plans to produce the car with “German production practices,” whatever that means. Maybe they mean as opposed to “Swiss production practices,” which are not as good, question mark?
The Mark Zero is aiming for a range of 310 miles on the WLTP testing cycle and a curb weight under 4,000 pounds, according to Auto Express. The body will reportedly be built on a new modular architecture, with the battery packs aligned along the transmission tunnel and rear axle.
It also seems that Piëch Automotive is planning to configure this platform platform to be suitable for internal combustion, fuel cell, and hybrid layouts, and could even be sold to other automakers, again according to Auto Express. Though we’re not sure how one platform would be able to accommodate the wide variety of drivetrains, considering how much established automakers tend to struggle creating viable all-electric and ICE versions of the same car.
Word is that Piëch Automotive also has plans for a four-seat sedan and a crossover or SUV to flesh out a lineup alongside any future production version of the Mark Zero two-seat coupe. And, you know, actually sell cars in any kind of quantity.
The illustrated teaser images making their way around the internet are promising, and the history behind the company’s name even more so. Let’s see if this Swiss startup can hold a candle to what Ferdinand was able to accomplish with Audi, Volkswagen, Lamborghini and Bugatti. No pressure. But the family money and contacts should help.
Correction: The car’s name has been corrected in the headline.