The new Mission S concept showcases Porsche’s future design direction – and previews a future mid-engined sports car that will be positioned above the 911.
Unveiled in New York, the new car’s look previews the firm’s revamped styling under new design chief Tobias Sühlmann, but company boss Michael Leiters has confirmed Porsche is already working on a new platform to underpin the eventual production version.
Porsche has long planned for a model to sit above the 911 and in 2023 showed the electric Mission X concept, which could fulfil that role. However, that project has since been scrapped due to limited demand for high-end electric sports cars, with the firm now putting its focus on combustion offerings in the segment instead.
The new platform has been designed to accept pure-petrol and hybrid powertrains but won’t accommodate an electric version, hinting at Porsche’s renewed commitment to combustion.
The last mid-engined Porsche to be positioned above the 911 was the 918 Spyder supercar, which was launched in 2013. The production version of the Mission S won’t be that extreme, with its performance designed to sit in the mid-point between the 911 and 918.
Significantly, the road-going version will be a regular series-production model, likely to be produced alongside the 911 in Zuffenhausen, rather than a limited-run model. But it is expected to spawn limited-edition variants as part of Porsche’s push, outlined in the new Sportwagenschmiede 35 strategy, into more premium positioning with higher-revenue models.
Design
The Mission S concept showcases Porsche’s revamped design language. Sühlmann, who was previously design chief at McLaren and has also worked at Volkswagen, Bugatti, Aston Martin and Bentley, replaced long-time design boss Michael Mauer in February this year.
Sühlmann said the concept’s design was developed in just eight months. “Michael Leiters called me one evening and said he had an idea and a vision for a car that could sit above the 911,” he said.
The design is clearly influenced by the late-1990s Carrera GT and the 911 GT1 that inspired it, with distinctive ‘torpedo’ front lights, a large air intake on the front edge of the roof and an aggressive-looking rear diffuser and spoiler. The roofline is inspired by the 959, with the rear sculpting based on the 911 GT1. The narrow LED daytime running lights follow the style introduced on the Taycan, while there is also a large cooling fan mounted above the rear engine bay.
On his arrival at Porsche, Sühlmann said he studied the history of the brand and identified a number of key design features, along with varying shoulder lines for the sports car, SUV and saloon range.
“The Bauhaus rule is that form and function work together and that’s vital in the exterior and interior of our cars,” said Sühlmann. “So the torpedo fenders that everyone knows sit higher than the bonnet, because it’s very important when you drive our cars that you know where the wheels are standing and the car is ending.”
Aerodynamic efficiency has also been a clear focus, reflecting Porsche’s motorsport heritage, and includes a rear wing that retracts when not required.
The Mission S has some new design cues too, such as the narrow split rear light elements. But there are numerous callbacks to older models, including the ‘telephone dial’ wheels that echo those of the 928.
Inside, the Mission S features a stripped-back driver-focused design, which is inspired by the 550 Spyder and the 356. It also has an analogue rev counter as one of five round instruments behind the steering wheel, with a number of physical controls and displays. Notably, the position of the round instruments alters depending on the drive mode selected.
There is no central touchscreen display, but a smartphone can be attached to a retractable magsafe attachment. Other unusual design elements include the seatbelt buckle attaching to the centre console.
Even the paint of the Mission S show car reflects Porsche’s motorsport heritage, with specially developed shades of white, and black chrome.
Technology
The production version of the Mission S is still in the early phases of development as Porsche works on the platform that will underpin it. But the firm has given clear hints at the direction it will take.
The Mission S will sit on “a highly flexible platform” that is based on existing Porsche technology. Leiters said the company is working on this internally, rather than taking the mid-engined architecture of sibling brand Lamborghini, which was also used as the basis for the Audi Nuvolari.
Unlike the Mission X electric hypercar concept, the new Mission S will be purely combustion-powered. “We will listen to the customer,” said Leiters. “We have the flexibility in the platform to do full internal combustion, hybrid and also plug-in hybrid. There won’t be an EV on that platform because there is no demand in the segment for EV yet.”
Porsche is reinvesting in combustion powertrains, having moved away from its plan to go electric-only. In the medium term, it expects to offer a roughly 2:1 mix of combustion to EV models in its line-up. But at the higher end, where EV demand is slower, ICE cars will dominate.
Future Porsche models will feature four-cylinder, V6, V8 and boxer engines – with the V8 the most logical to fit in a new mid-engined range-topper. That is hinted at by the extreme styling of the Mission S’s engine cover, which features a large cooling fan inspired by the one fitted to the 917. One other option could be a flat eight: longtime Porsche tuner Ruf recently produced a 1000bhp version, and Porsche experimented with layout for a stillborn 918 Spyder successor.