The New Porsche Mission S, An Ode To The Sports Car

With the 918 Spyder already more than a decade behind us, it’s about time Porsche developed a new super- or even hypercar, don’t you think? After a lengthy teasing campaign, it has just revealed what such a car might actually look like, and although technical details are quite sparse for the moment, the new Mission S certainly looks the part! It’s riddled with typical Porsche design details, honouring past halo cars while also providing a glimpse into what the future holds. This Mission S, a conceptual design study for the moment, could very well be the next bedroom poster car Porsche needs! And there’s a cool little watch-related easter egg to be found in the interior, as well! Or maybe now we’re imagining things…

Porsche took to New York to unveil the Mission S, at the very same pier in Queens where it once showed the Porsche 550 RS Spyder to the world. And it’s certainly not by chance the company has opted for this location, as the Mission S, although very much looking forward to a future supercar, also looks to the brand’s past for inspiration. You’ll find elements from some of the finest road- and racing cars coming out of the Stuttgart/Zuffenhausen factory. The most notable is the exposed fan in the back, referencing the all-conquering Porsche 917, but there’s far more to the Mission S than just that.

The Mission S concept

The Mission S is squarely aimed at today’s (or near future’s) supercar league. A league that the 911 can’t really compete with, no matter how sensational it is. The fact of the matter is the 911 platform is an insanely good car on its own, one with a gigantic and very loyal fanbase, but a sports car rather than a supercar. Sure, some versions outperform far more powerful machines on track, but it’s no McLaren W1, Ferrari F80 or Lamborghini Revuelto, nor is it a McLaren McL 6GT, Ferrari 849 Testarossa or Lamborghini Temerario. To face that kind of competition, something else is needed: a purpose-built mid-engine supercar, the Mission S!

One of the defining features of the 911, which also holds it back in the supercar/hypercar game, to be honest, is the flat-six engine mounted behind the rear axle. And despite the fact that Porsche engineers can work wonders with the engine and the mechanics surrounding it, it has its limits. The Mission S is designed to take things well and truly beyond the 911, with a mid-engine layout and a definitive step up in power, performance and experience (although no specs are given for now). It is essentially a follow-up to the 918 Spyder, the Carrera GT, the 911 GT1 Straßenversion and the 959. And if you’re willing to take it back even further, it comes full circle with the 550 RS Spyder, the brand’s very first mid-engined sports car

Taking the past into the future

This past-to-present concept is also very much reflected in the design. Going over things in detail feels like going through Porsche’s greatest hits collection, yet it feels very coherent, taking in subtle details instead of being very ‘on the nose’ about it all. Up front, the low nose and air intake are reminiscent of the 911 GT1, along the side, you can see hints of the Carrera GT around the front wheel section, while the backside is a combination of the 959’s integrated rear wing and the 918 Spyder and 911 GT1’s sort of car-in-car design. The wheels are a new take on the ‘dial design’ from the wheels on the 928, and the rear-view mirrors reflect the ones on the Carrera GT, so it’s a proper ode to past halo cars by Porsche.

From the side, you’ll notice a distinct line running along the entire car. It starts with the daylight running lights underneath the headlights, wraps around the front wheel covers, down the length of the door and into the rear arches, only to come around the back and end in the horizontal taillights. The rear fenders cut in drastically behind the rear wheels, flanking twin stacked exhaust pipes and a large central diffuser. There’s a roof scoop running from the top of the windshield to the back, sending air into whatever engine it might be (more on that in a bit), and the 917-esque fan is said to aid cooling. And despite the fact that it looks integrated, the rear spoiler is likely to be an active one, moving up and down, and potentially even backwards like on the McLaren W1, to increase downforce and smooth out airflow depending on the driving mode you’re in.

On the inside, there’s plenty more new stuff to be discovered. For starters, a lack of screens! No large door-to-door touchscreens to take you through a gazillion menu options, but proper, physical buttons. And speaking of buttons, there’s a very cheeky but obvious one in the steering wheel. Painted bright red and marked “On Your Own”, pushing it will deactivate all driving aids, putting you in full control of the car. Porsche states the Mission S is purely aimed at the experience of driving, so the minimalistic interior and analogue controls make total sense.

Although it’s not purely analogue, as the gear lever might hint at a manual transmission, in reality it’s connected to a PDK gearbox. A neat little touch, however, is what appears to be a balsa wood top, a direct reference to the Carrera GT if it’s indeed made of the same material. Oh, and you can adjust its height to suit your personal driving position.

The instrument cluster is also something quite special, taking the iconic five-gauge setup into a new, configurable direction. The rev counter is always in the centre, although switching driving modes moves it closer to you, changes the design and even makes the outermost gauges tuck in between the others, creating a cleaner, more focused dash. And that watch-related easter egg I mentioned? Look closely at the rev counter in the image below, and you might notice a Rolex-like cyclops over the gear indicator. Pretty neat!

What to expect

Well, to be honest, that’s a bit of a hard nut to crack. It’s confirmed that there will be a production car coming in the near future, as the press release clearly states the Mission S “represents a mid-engined super sports car platform positioned above the 911 – not as a one-off hypercar, but as a permanent and versatile addition to our customer offering”. But what matters most is when, what and how for the Mission S, as for now it’s nothing more than a design study, a concept car hinting at what Porsche’s next halo car might look like. If I had anything to say about it, however, they should build it as is!

At the moment, there’s no confirmation on what type of engine it will have, although rumours strongly suggest a newly developed flat-8 engine. And judging by the various clips on social media, it sounds like it will be naturally aspirated and of quite a large capacity. Thinking hypothetically, adding two more cylinders to Porsche’s NA 4.0-litre flat-six would give us a capacity of 5.4 litres and potentially a power figure of somewhere in the eight hundreds at least. Would that be sufficient to compete against the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini? The Temerario pumps out close to 1,000 horsepower, and the Ferrari 849 Testarossa is even more powerful, both cars that I feel Porsche is aiming at with the Mission S.

But since it’s still very much a guessing game, who knows what lies ahead. There’s even no mention of a launch year, although I’ve read it’s to be expected in 2029 at the earliest. It remains to be seen whether that’s accurate, and how much of this Mission S will hold up during its development. Porsche is also being very secretive about the projected pricing of the Mission S once it indeed hits the showrooms, with sources ranging from EUR 500,000 to well past a million. Considering some special 911 variants are already close to the EUR 400k mark in standard trim, I have a feeling the Mission S will be priced into the seven figures. Time will tell, but it’s certainly a very bold step from Porsche at a time when the company isn’t in the best of shape.

For more information, please visit Porsche.com or Newsroom.Porsche.com.

Editorial Note: The information used and images portrayed in this article are sourced from and used with permission from Porsche AG unless stated otherwise.