Porsche on Thursday revealed the Mission X, a stunning hypercar concept with retro vibes and electric power. Porsche says it is evaluating the car for production.
The concept arrives exactly 75 years after the registration of Porsche’s first volume car, and it presents a roadmap for how the automaker’s sports cars could evolve in the future.
“The Porsche Mission X is a technology beacon for the sports car of the future,” Oliver Blume, Porsche’s CEO, said in a statement. “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.”
Perhaps hinting at how far the development has progressed, Porsche has even established several key performance targets for any production version. These include a charge time twice as quick as the Taycan Turbo S, significantly more downforce than the track-focused 911 GT3 RS, a power-to-weight ratio of roughly one horsepower per kilogram (approximately 2.2 pounds), and perhaps most important of all, a Nürburgring lap record for a production vehicle. At present that would mean beating the 6:35.183 set by the Mercedes-Benz AMG One hypercar last fall.
Porsche Mission X concept
Porsche has presented a handful of hypercar concepts in the recent past, including one powered by batteries. The Mission X evolves themes seen on some of these earlier cars, and incorporates Porsche’s traditional DNA.
The concept is relatively compact, measuring 177.0 inches long and 78.7 inches wide, making it similar in size to the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder. The two-seat passenger compact consists of a lightweight glass dome with an exoskeleton made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic that adds strength as well as attachment points for a pair of Le Mans prototype-style doors.
Those doors are a nod to Porsche’s iconic 917 race car, while the headlights are said to reference the lights of the 906 and 908. When activated, the lights open up like blinking eyes, according to Michael Mauer, Porsche’s design chief.
Completing the exterior are staggered wheels (20 inches front and 21 inches at the rear), carbon-fiber aerodynamic components, a unique paint color called Rocket Metallic, cameras instead of side mirrors, and Porsche’s revised logo. The wheels at the rear feature almost transparent aero blades, which are designed like turbines for better brake cooling.
Porsche Mission X concept
For the interior, the designers have envisaged a stopwatch module that attaches to the dash and features analog and digital displays. The clocks are designed for use on a racetrack and can display the lap times or other key details.
No technical details have been revealed, including motor output or battery size. However, Porsche is known to be investigating high-performance battery technology, in particular lithium-ion batteries with silicon anodes instead of graphite, which the company has said is able to deliver a higher energy density and better fast-charging capability. Porsche’s Volkswagen Group parent is also developing solid-state batteries, which are estimated to be ready in the second half of the decade. One of these technologies could conceivably end up in a Porsche electric hypercar.
Porsche has previously said that any electric hypercar, if given the green light for production, won’t arrive before 2025.
