Porsche Mission S Concept First Look: New Mid-Engined Hypercar Comes Into Focus

Porsche is developing a mid-engined hypercar positioned above the 911, and the Mission S concept is our first clear-eyed look at what to expect from the successor to the 918 Spyder that has been out of production since 2015. But Porsche is making it clear-the car that the Mission S previews will not be a one-off, but rather a new vehicle line entirely. And even better, it will be motivated by a gas-fed powertrain.

Unveiled in New York City on the very Queens dockside where the first photos of the iconic 550 Spyder were shot in 1953, the Mission S is a visionary design study featuring numerous styling elements inspired by the likes of the 959 and GT1 that will form the basis of a future product portfolio, one being developed in conjunction with the engineering of an all-new bespoke architecture, according to Tobias Sühlmann, who took over as Porsche’s head of design in February. That suggests a potential family of models, including a production version of the coupe you see here, along with a roadster, and likely more derivatives down the line.

The new chief of style’s goal was to create a timeless design that’s differentiated from other Porsches but still recognizable as part of the family. (Click here for much more on how the Mission S was designed) For example, he wanted a softer shape for the headlamps, which are more circular in their approach (à la 911), eschewing the trend toward more rectangular and horizontal shapes in other recent Porsche models. They’re separated from the car’s thin-strip turn signal indicator lights, with graphics underneath that help provide structure to the entire assembly.

Super Sports Car Stance

As for the rest of the Mission S, as you’d expect, the two-door strikes an imposing physical presence befitting a car with hypercar aspirations, punctuated by wide, muscular rear haunches and a distinctive character line that encircles its taut overall body shape. There’s a gaping black mouth and dual air inlets in the powerful, sloping hood, with a take on the 911’s torpedo fenders further framing the look out front and in profile.

A large air intake on the roof runs through to the back of the car to help cool the mystery powertrain Porsche is planning to mount into the midsection of the eventual production car (at the event it sounded like a proper throaty Porsche powerplant). At the rear, a requisite, fully integrated and active wing frames the steeply sloped sheetmetal emblazoned with the Porsche wordmark. One of the coolest elements of the Mission S is its super-wide “dial design” wheels at each corner drawing inspiration from the 928, with six black sections floating in a white wheel cover.

Analog Interior Is Key

Bathed in light gray and black minimalist trim, the Mission S is meant to be analog-themed and driver-focused. The cabin is sunk into the body, with deep-set seats featuring an integrated seatbelt buckle in the center, but they’re movable and not fixed into position, and the car’s low cowl helps with its overall sightlines.

As you’d expect from a car like this, everything is driver focused. The red and black traditionally styled five round gauges behind the steering wheel are centered by a tachometer with an analog needle set against a digital background (with an 8,000-rpm redline), which gets more prominent depending on the drive mode. Various features are activated and controlled via a combination of haptic and digital inputs.

Its small central screen, which is primarily designed to serve as a phone mirroring panel, serves in stark contrast to the giant full-width units becoming more prevalent in modern vehicles. As for your phone, a retractable MagSafe panel has been developed to keep it firmly in place, and when you get the My Porsche app set up, you can control vehicle functions and customize areas like the gaugework with themes drawn from historic Porsche models.

The Mission S also goes old school analog by bringing back an actual key, properly positioned as is the Porsche custom to the left of the steering wheel (there’s also a holder for the key itself).

Pivoting Platform and Powertrain

Porsche has been toying with the idea of building a successor to the 918 for some time. It showed the Mission X electric hypercar concept in 2023 on a platform it was reportedly developing and sharing with Audi and Lamborghini. The Porsche version was going to be a wicked-fast road-legal EV that charged incredibility fast with a 900-volt system architecture. Like the coming new electric Porsche Boxster and Cayman, it used what Porsche calls its E-Core battery layout, which is positioned behind the seats for better balance and handling.

But plans change, and Porsche pivoted. One thing Porsche said the new car will not be is a pure battery electric car. There’s no demand for pure EV in this segment, according to Michael Leiters, chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG.

The production version of the Mission S will use a dedicated and flexible, Porsche-only platform, according to Leiters. Officials are not revealing powertrain details yet, but Leiters said the platform will work with an internal combustion engine-possibly the rumored flat-plane-crank V-8 Porsche is said to be developing-or a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain, which Porsche has plenty of familiarity with already. It’s also being designed to accommodate two or three pedals, so manual or automatic transmissions are both in play. And there’s an “On your own” button that turns off all the nannies.

Porsche’s North American CEO Timo Resch said that while Porsche decided to go with a bespoke platform for the new car, he indicated that vehicles from other brands could potentially share some of the same components. He added that it’s OK to go with a bespoke approach for low-volume, high-priced models, with broader platform sharing making sense for more volume models.

Needs a Name That Doesn’t Include 911

One thing the production car definitely won’t share with the Mission S is its nameplate. The team has been knocking around names for the platform, said Resch, and as for the car itself, 911 will be nowhere to be found. It’s a different animal and needs a different name to distinguish it from the 911s likely already in the driveways of many of its prospective buyers.

The first Porsche was a lightweight sports car that then went to the racetrack, and the brand has made the constant loop between track and road ever since, said Sühlmann. The Mission S reflects those core ideals that will once again help shape the next chapter of the brand-regardless of the name, its platform, or what ultimately powers it.