The first pictures of the electric prototype Piëch Mark Zero have been released. The sporty two-seater, built by a Swiss company, has been launched at the Geneva International Motor Show. 

Christian Raaflaub

swissinfo.ch

Anton Piëch has petrol in his blood: he’s the son of Ferdinand Piëch, former chairman of the board at Volkswagen, and great-grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, founder of Porsche. But he is turning away from fossil fuels and is focusing, for the most part, on sustainable mobility. 

Piëch AutomotiveExternal link, which has offices in Zurich and Munich, was founded in 2016 by Anton Piëch and Rea Stark Rajcic and has around 20 employees. It works with well-known external partners and a total of around 200 people are involved in the project. 

The company has now presented its first model, an electric sports car, at the Geneva International Motor ShowExternal link, which runs from March 7-17 in the Palexpo hall near Geneva airport.

Piëch’s name was guaranteed to make headlines, and the car has made it onto the front page of the motor show’s official magazine. Behind the headline “Swiss made”, the two owners are standing either side of the car, over which a Swiss flag has been draped.

It reportedly weighs less than 1,800 kilos and can travel 500 kilometres (310 miles) on one charged battery.

The concept behind the Swiss sports car is not confined to electrically driven vehicle. The two car makers have high hopes that the car will offer a platform for all sorts of vehicles: hybrids, fuel cell as well as petrol. The motor show’s magazine says the platform will be offered to external developers and car manufacturers down the line. 

Autonomous vehicles aren’t currently under discussion. The car’s design is equipped for autonomous driving, Stark Rajcic told the German car margarine Auto, “but we’ll keep that for later models”.

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