Porsche's Mission X electric concept delivers supercar performance

While Porsche has high hopes for a synthetic gasoline called e-fuel to keep its long-running ICE-powered 911 going well into the EV era, the German automaker is also pushing ahead with what could morph into its first electric supercar, a concept revealed Thursday called Mission X.

The low-slung, two-seater features doors that open up and forward, a lightweight carbon fiber body, a 900-volt electrical system and a glass canopy for the roof. Porsche said the concept was created to prioritize the power-to-weight ratio, super-fast charging and downforce — which helps keep the car planted at very high speeds.

But Porsche gave few details on horsepower and torque, or the car's motors or specific speeds. The goal for the car, Porsche said, is that it be the fastest street legal car on Germany's famous Nürburgring Nordsschiefie track.

The Mission X, with a 107.4-inch wheelbase, is about the same size as the 918 Spyder. Mission X is a two-motor rear-drive supercar with the battery pack installed centrally behind the driver.

The airflow around the car, which is 47 inches high and rides low to the ground, is routed through the body. That design greatly reduces aerodynamic drag, Porsche said. The slippery shape pays dividends, the automaker said, because it enabled engineers to install a smaller, lighter battery pack.

Porsche gave no details on what type of batteries Mission X is equipped with, but said the car's 900-volt electrical system enables charging times twice as fast as the current Taycan S. The motor and the battery pack are oil-cooled, it said. The Taycan S can, under ideal conditions, be 80 percent charged in 22.5 minutes.

Porsche said Mission X's power-to-weight ratio is roughly 1 hp for every 2.2 pounds. (A Ferrari 812 GTS, by comparison, has a power-to-weight ratio of nearly 1 hp per 4.81 pounds.)

Porsche's goal for Mission X's downforce hints at an extremely fast top speed for the electric car. The 911 GT3 RS produces 1,895 pounds of downforce at 177 mph, according to Porsche. Mission X is expected to exceed those figures.

The lightweight doors mimic those of the Porsche 917 race car. The interior has carbon fiber seat shells that are part of the car's monocoque body. The curved instrument cluster is situated on the highest part of the steering column.

Porsche, which last year invested $75 million in e-fuel company HIF Global LLC, plans to go carbon neutral by 2030. The automaker said the Mission X is purely a concept, but it is leaving the door open on the technology someday leading to a production version.

"The Porsche Mission X is a technology beacon for the sports car of the future," Porsche Chairman Oliver Blume said in a statement. "It picks up the torch of iconic sports cars of decades past: like the 959, the Carrera GT and the 918 Spyder before it, the Mission X provides critical impetus for the evolutionary development of future vehicle concepts."