The concept hypercar may be the 918 Spyder sequel fans have been waiting for.
(Bloomberg) — A question long asked by Porsche fans to Porsche brass may finally have an answer: “When are you going to make a new supercar?”
Announced Thursday on the 75th anniversary of the Stuttgart, Germany,-based automaker, the Mission X concept car is an electric hypercar design study not yet confirmed for production, according to Porsche spokesperson, but not ruled out entirely either. Porsche’s last high-speed car, the 918 Spyder, ended production in 2015.
The Porsche Mission X evokes multiple race cars from throughout its history. It comes with doors that open upward toward the front, like those of the Porsche 917 that raced in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its headlights carry the same vertical lines as those of the Porsche 906 and 908 that raced in the 1960s. Its lightweight glass dome and carbon-fiber exoskeleton recall to mind the Porsche 963 used in endurances races like the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Inside, two seats are covered in brown and grey leather, seat belts come with six points of restraint, and the steering wheel is open at the top above switches and paddle shifters, similar to a Formula One-style set-up. The tires are staggered, with 20-inch wheels on the front and 21-inch wheels at the rear, which helps improve aerodynamics.
Oliver Blume, the chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG, described the Mission X as “a dream car” in a statement to press. “It picks up the torch of iconic sports cars of decades past, like the 959, the Carrera GT, and the 918 Spyder.”
The Mission X is shorter, but wider and taller, than both the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder, and comes with what the automaker described as an “ultra high-performance” electric powertrain, but the spokesperson declined to share specific figures for power and speed related to the concept vehicle.
“While we don’t have performance data or weight specifically for the Mission X, if it were to go into series production, it would have a power-to-weight ratio of roughly 1:1 (1 kilogram per horsepower),” they said. By comparison, the 918 Spyder weighs in at 1.8 kilogram per horsepower, which indicates the Mission X vehicle would be much faster than its predecessor.
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