The new Porsche Mission X is a fully-electric hypercar ready to smash 'Ring records

Mission X. Porsche says it’s a concept. Ha. It goes on to say it’s intended to be the fastest road legal car around the Nurburgring. And you don’t do that with a concept.

What an amazing looking thing though. The fighter jet style glass canopy over the two-seat cockpit features a carbon exoskeleton and upwards opening doors, the design language is lithe and sleek rather than edgy and stilted. There are aeroblades for the rear wheels and LED lights that open and close. Is anyone else seeing more than a hint of Ferrari SP3 Daytona in the Mission X?

It’s an all-electric hypercar. Afraid so people. There’s no word on exact power, or driven wheels, but the claim is a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio and given Porsche’s involvement with Rimac, it’s safe to assume there’s a hint of Nevera in there somewhere. But let’s guess it’ll be lighter. Much. It’s a track monster rather than a GT, so could the intention be to match 911 weight? 1,500bhp and 1,500kg? That should do it. If so, top end is likely to be over 320km/h, but the focus will be acceleration. 0-100km/h in under 2.0 secs – that’s easily predicted guesswork on my part.

Two other interesting facts. Downforce is ‘well in excess’ of the latest GT3 RS’s 860kg and with 900V architecture it charges twice as fast as the Taycan Turbo S. The latter has real trickledown potential. The battery is chest, rather than skateboard, mounted behind the seats (in what Porsche calls an ‘e-core layout’) rather than underneath them. So it’s low, just 1.2 metres tall.

Also compact at 4.5 metres long and two wide. Similar dimensions to the 918 Spyder. It uses 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels. The colour is Rocket Metallic above the beltline, there are naked carbon elements below.

Inside there’s a motorsport-inspired steering wheel. Not quite a yoke, but heading that way. On it there are mode switches and shift paddles. Regarding the latter, the question is ‘why?’. Is this an electric hypercar with a gearbox? No word yet. There’s also carbon seats, a six-point harness, and a removable dash-top stopwatch.

The date of the unveiling is significant. 75 years ago today the 356 ‘No 1’ Roadster received its road licence. The first car ever to wear the Porsche crest. The Mission X is the first car to wear the newly updated emblem. It continues a line that started with the 959 in 1985 and continued through the Carrera GT (2003) and 918 Spyder a decade ago.

There is no word on price or build numbers yet. Of course. Porsche hasn’t admitted it’s going into production. But you don’t give yourself a whopping present like this and then bury it in a dusty warehouse for eternity. Let’s hope it has a less troubled gestation than the 918 Spyder. Or the Lotus Evija that is probably the Mission X’s most direct rival. What else might it square up to? How about the Aston Martin Valkyrie? That’s about as extreme as road cars get.

To claim that ‘Ring crown it’ll need to be faster than current holder, the Mercedes-AMG One. Which means lapping in under 6mins 35secs. Given Porsche currently holds the outright lap record with its 919 Evo, who’d bet against it?

When? That’s the next question. Remember the Mission E? That was the 2015 concept that became the Taycan four years later. So don’t expect the Mission X before 2027. By which time the ‘Ring lap record may well have been substantially lowered. And yes, Porsche will have planned for that.

That’s what we know so far. It’s a track-focused electric hypercar, likely to set benchmarks by which all others will be judged. Mission X: is this the hypercar to take us beyond the petrol era?

TEXT Ollie Marriage