Porsche has a long history of limited-run supercars. It all started with the 959, the most technologically advanced street-legal car of that era. The German automaker then wowed everyone with the superb-looking Carrera GT, which leveled up from the progenitor's flat-six lump to a race-derived V10.
The 918 Spyder followed suit as a concept at the 80th edition of the Geneva Motor Show in 2010. Three years later, series production of the plug-in hybrid V8-powered supercar kicked off in Zuffenhausen. Where to next? According to Porsche, fully electric is the only way forward after the 918 Spyder.
Enter the Mission X, a zero-emission concept with Le Mans hypercar influences and a high possibility of going into series production. As per the press release attached below, a decision will be made in the nearest of futures in regard to the road car's feasibility. The vision behind the Mission X can be split into four bullet points, beginning with power-to-weight ratio.
The company that made a name for itself with the Neunelfer targets one metric horsepower per kilogram, which means one mechanical horsepower for every 2.2 pounds. Porsche didn't mention how much the concept weighs, how many electric drive units it has, nor the battery's net or gross capacity.
As for the second point of interest, Porsche intends to work its magic in the wind tunnel to create an electric hypercar with more downforce than the 992-generation 911 GT3 RS. The most track-focused Neunelfer entitled to wear a license plate as of June 2023 generates a whopping 1,895 pounds (860 kilograms) of downforce at 177 miles an hour (285 kilometers an hour).
Charging performance is another point of interest, with Porsche making a case for a 900-volt system. This architecture would allow the road-going version of the Mission X – which is likely to happen – to replenish its battery almost twice as quickly as the Taycan Turbo S. As a brief refresher, all variants of the Taycan use an 800-volt architecture. Battery packs range from 79.2 to 93.4 kWh (71.0 to 83.7 kWh of usable capacity).
Finally, as the headline implies, Porsche intends to shame all other street-legal vehicles at the world's most challenging racetrack. Needless to say, the Mission X's production version would also be crowned as the fastest road-legal EV on the Nurburgring. But still, will that road car ever happen?
From the wording of the press release below to the exterior design of the vehicle, there's no denying that Porsche is eyeing series production. The Mission X would also spearhead Porsche's upcoming lineup of all-electric vehicles, which will include the Macan, Cayenne, Boxster, and Cayman. The entry-level 718 Boxster and coupe-bodied Cayman, for example, will switch to all-electric propulsion sometime in 2025.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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