When Mark Webber quit F1 to become a part of Porsche’s motorsport family, many pundits said it was a wrong decision since Marky still had a lot of racing left in him in spite of his spectacular crashes. Be that as it may, Webber seems pretty happy these days, especially with the non-racing activities he is involved in. The latest publicity stunt he’s done for his generous employer is test driving the Porsche Mission E.

Webber is now a fully fledged brand ambassador for Porsche. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that he is bowled over by the Porsche Mission E, even in prototype guise. Mark is used to much noisier stuff from his racing days, but he seems to have found the quiet performance of the electric grand tourer quite exhilarating. He can testify that in terms of raw speed the big electric saloon car lacks nothing compared with the petrol stuff. Handling-wise, too, the Mission E managed to impress the racing driver with its four-wheel-steering and well-sorted chassis. Although Mark admits he has some reservations about the weight issue:

“I’ve got many Porsche moments that will stay with me forever – winning the WEC in the 919 Hybrid would be one – and I think I’ve just experienced another: driving the Mission E for the first time. It’s a game changer, this car. Quite literally, it is stealth in motion. Still clearly a Porsche, it actually kept reminding me of the 919, as there were times were we could drive our Le Mans racer on E-Motor alone. The gorgeous view from inside the cockpit over the front wheel arches is pure 918 and the way the four-wheel drive system puts its 600 hp down simply sensational. I’m a bit of an old-school kind of guy and I love nothing more than to drive so I don’t mind admitting I had some reservations. I thought that the Mission E could feel a little heavy but the driving experience is seriously dynamic: the four-wheel steering, the performance and the braking ability were a really amazing experience.I’ve driven lots of cars over the years that I’ve fallen for but the Mission E really stands out. I’m looking forward to driving it a lot more in the future.”