- Currently a concept, the Mission X that Porsche revealed today is a large car with an electric powertrain.
- Porsche says that if it goes into production, the Mission X will be designed to claim the title of fastest road car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
- The lightweight carbon fiber design and aero elements make downforce lower than the 911 GT3 RS.
Summer is when concept cars come out to play, and Porsche has something special in its Mission X, released by the automaker in celebration of 75 years of the great sports car. X’s mission is to see how the next 75 years of great sports cars might turn out: fast, light and electric.
The low-slung electric coupe-style concept looks like a hovercraft, with a lightweight glass dome roof and doors that open forward like beetle wings—though Porsche designers probably had the famous 917 race car in mind when they hung those hinges. “The Porsche Mission X . . . carried the torch of an iconic sports car decades ago. Like the 959, Carrera GT and 918 Spyder before it, the Mission X provided a critical impetus for the evolutionary development of future vehicle concepts,” said Oliver Blume, chairman of Porsche’s executive board. .
Attractive LED lighting
This is not a long tail. At 177.0 inches long, 78.7 inches wide and 47.2 inches tall, the Mission X should fit nicely in your garage. It has a similar wheelbase—107.4 inches—to the Carrera GT and 918. Other racing highlights can be seen in the long, low-slung headlights. Unlike the old car, the new lights are LED modules. When running during the day, only a thin element is visible, but when you turn on the headlights, the full module opens, “like an eye that blinks open,” says Porsche. A modern version of a pop-up, say us.
The concept car is painted in Rocket Metallic, a color specially designed for this car. Satin-finished carbon fiber details highlight the car’s lightweight construction, and Porsche says its aero elements will create lower downforce than the 911 GT3 RS. The staggered tires—20-inch wheels in front and 21-inch wheels in back—use that downforce. In the center of the wheel is a redesigned Porsche crest, which can also be found on the hood and steering wheel. Look closely: the changes are subtle.
Continuing Porsche’s current production car design trend, full-length headlights float across the rear of the Mission X, with Porsche emblazoned on them, in case the newly redesigned emblem eludes you. While charging, the “E” in the Porsche letters pulses slowly, to indicate something is happening. Since it’s a concept, Porsche hasn’t given many details about propulsion, but this is an electric hypercar, with the battery mounted behind the vehicle’s seat to centralize mass and give it a mid-engine feel.
Ultra-Fast Charging
No word on the motor, but the Mission X is promised to have a power-to-weight ratio of about 1 hp per 2.2 pounds, and a 900-volt system that allows it to charge twice the speed of the Taycan. Turbo S—which Porsche says can go from 5 to 80 percent in just over 20 minutes.
Inside the cabin, the driver and passenger seats are different colors, the driver’s seat blends into the Kalahari Gray on the dash as if to say the pilot is part of the car. Passengers sit in Andalusia Brown, and what that says about Porsche’s expectations of your passenger experience, we don’t want to guess.
‘Ring Ready Switch Gear
Returning to the motorsport inspiration, the open-top steering wheel features mode switches and shift paddles—perhaps for some sort of regenerative braking control. A lap recorder and stopwatch module are also integrated into the cabin, so you can set your own Nürburgring time. Currently the production car record is held by Mercedes, with the Mercedes AMG One running a lap time of 6:35.18 set for 2022.
Porsche is quick to declare the Mission X is a design study only, but we see the Mission E becoming a Taycan, so we hope that the Mission X finds its way to dealerships in the future.
Senior Editor, Features
Like a sleeper agent activated late in the game, Elana Scherr didn’t know her calling at a young age. Like most girls, she plans to become an artist astronaut vet, and comes closest to the latter by attending UCLA art school. He drew an image of a car, but did not own it. Elana reluctantly got her driver’s license at 21 and discovered that not only did she love cars and wanted to drive them, but other people loved cars and wanted to read about them, which meant someone had to write about them. Since receiving the activation code, Elana has written for numerous car magazines and websites, covering classic reviews, car culture, technology, motorsport and new cars.