08th June 2023
Ethan Jupp
We’ve all been waiting for it and it’s finally here. Porsche has revealed what is expected to become the replacement for its 918 Spyder hypercar. Meet the all-electric, c/1,500PS, quad-motor Mission X concept, a hypercar that’s intended to be both a celebration of everything Porsche has been and a preview of what it wants to be. It was introduced at the Porsche Museum during the ‘75 Years of Porsche Sports Cars’ exhibition, 75 years to the day since 356 No.1 got its general operating permit.
So let’s cut right to it. Does Porsche intend to build this? It’s not been explicit with its intentions, but Porsche isn’t one for gratuitous pointless concepts. We expect it to follow the trajectory of the 918 Spyder and Mission E concepts – 2-4 years of development from concept reveal, to production reality. So, all but knowing that the Mission X is the real deal, what are we dealing with?
Well, for an EV, Porsche has outlined some bold targets for “if” the Mission X makes production. The goal is to deliver one horsepower per kilogram of weight, charge twice as quickly as the Taycan Turbo S, produce downforce ‘well in excess’ of that produced by the current 911 GT3 RS and, finally, turn all that into a record-breaking lap around the Nürburgring.
“The Porsche Mission X is a technology beacon for the sportscar of the future," said Oliver Blume, Porsche Chairman.
"It picks up the torch of iconic sportscars of decades past: like the 959, the Carrera GT and the 918 Spyder before it, the Mission X provides critical impetus for the evolutionary development of future vehicle concepts."
In terms of design, Mission X is everything Porsche past, present and future. From all angles, it’s pulling from everything from the 908, to the 918. A particular departure from Porsche’s recent past – 918, Carrera GT, et al – is that bubble glass roof and ‘Le Mans-style’ doors, aping those of the Porsche 917. There’s a lot of 917 in its silhouette, especially that Kurzheck-esque rear end, though the light bar and aero treatment are thoroughly 2020s.
Dare we say, too, there’s a bit of Daytona SP3 in the shape and upward climb of the beltline? Unsurprising, given both the Porsche and Ferrari are heavily referential to their 1960s sports racer ancestors in their design. Speaking of that beltline, bodywork below it moving towards the rear from the doors is presented in a satin carbon, as opposed to the rocket metallic of the rest of the car.
The front end of the Mission X borrows from the 906 and 908, especially in the vertical lights, complete with a reinterpreted, now up-standing Porsche four-point LED day-running signature. In terms of its dimensions, it’s more or less a dead ringer for the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder.
Under those dramatic glass-roofed butterfly doors is the high-tech yet minimal cabin of the Mission X, with a race-style docked wheel and (padded) carbon bucket seats. Behind the wheel is a curved driver’s display. The dash meanwhile jutts downward into the infotainment screen. On the passenger side is a timing device, with both analogue and digital readouts.
The cabin is colour-coded and driver-focused, with the driver seat and wheel featuring Kalahara grey amongst the Andalusia Brown of the rest. The Mission X is also YouTuber-ready, with an array of cameras controlled by the record button on the multi-purpose controller found on a LaFerrari-esque spur.
Okay, let’s talk guts. We know Porsche is aiming for around 1,500PS, we know the battery will be centrally-mounted. But is this going to actually be a Porsche? Or a Rimac by any other name? Featuring a new in-house-developed 900-volt architecture, it ought very much to be home-made, rather than the product of Croatian outsourcing. That said, Porsche’s connections with the EV hypercar stalwart will no doubt prove useful in the production car’s development.
So that’s the Mission X – retro-ish looks, electric power, relative low weight and designs on Nordschleife supremacy. What’s your take on this next-generation Porsche hypercar?
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Mission X
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