New Porsche hypercar may not be all-electric

And the production version of the sexy Mission X concept will have to wait until after the new 718 and Cayenne EVs

A production version of the stunning Porsche Mission X hypercar concept is still a few years away – and it might not be pure-electric like the show car that previewed it 12 months ago.

So says Porsche’s global design chief Michael Mauer, who oversaw the design of the sleek battery-powered super-coupe unveiled at the German performance car brand’s 75th anniversary in June 2023.

The 20-year Porsche veteran also designed the company’s last multi-million-dollar hypercar – the 918 Spyder, which fought it out with ultra-exclusive limited-editions like the McLaren P1 and LaFerrari, but has been out of production since June 2015.

As its cross-town rival continues to deliver Mercedes-AMG ONEs to well-heeled customers (including Aussies), Porsche's Italian and British competitors both now look certain to release a new 'super sports car' before the Mission X becomes reality.

In February this year Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told carsales the production fate of the Mission X would be decided by the end of 2024. A month later project leader Michael Behr told us it would only be produced in left-hand drive – like its 959 (1985), Carrera GT (2003) and 918 Spyder (2013) predecessors – if a new-generation Porsche hypercar is indeed signed off.

That seems a mere formality, but the question of which powertrain type will be future-proof amid looming emissions bans and declining EV sales – and able to out-perform the best street-legal hypercars from Ferrari, McLaren and AMG at any price – could be a stumbling block in the Mission X business case.

When the battery-electric Mission X ‘concept study’ was revealed last year, Porsche said any potential production version "should be the fastest road-legal vehicle around the Nürburgring Nordschleife; have a power-to-weight ratio of roughly one PS [hp] per kilogram; achieve downforce values that are well in excess of those delivered by the current 911 GT3 RS; offer significantly improved charging performance with its 900-volt system architecture and charge roughly twice as quickly as Porsche’s current frontrunner, the Taycan Turbo S”.

That means Porsche’s next hypercar has to be quicker around the 20.6km Green Hell road course than not only the twin-turbo boxer-powered 959, the V10-powered Carrera GT and the 652kW plug-in hybrid V8-powered 918 Spyder (the first road car to crack the seven-minute barrier), but also the McLaren P1 successor, the Ferrari ‘F250’ and the AMG ONE – the current lap record holder at 6:30.705 – all of which will or already come with V8 or V6-based plug-in hybrid powertrains.

But the man responsible for designing the battery-powered Mission X says a decision is yet to be made about the powertrain of what will be the most powerful, most dynamic and most expensive road car Porsche has ever built.

“We have a strong [hypercar] history or legacy. It started with 959, Carrera GT and 918, so I’m not saying when but definitely there will be … some time in the future there will be a hypercar again,” Mauer told a small group of Australian journalists in a roundtable interview to mark two decades of service at Porsche.

“But the really challenging part right now with this is, 'Will it be an EV, is it a hybrid, what is it?'

“Whenever Porsche is doing such a car it has to be the strongest and the best car in that segment. And therefore there still will be some discussion [around] what is the right [powertrain] solution.”

The former Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Saab designer, whose official title these days is Vice-President Style Porsche, said that while EVs are unbeatable in a straight line, Porsches have always been more focused on handling dynamics.

“That’s one thing that happens with EVs,” said Mauer. “The acceleration on a straight road is not limited any more by the expertise of the engineers of the engines, it is much more limited by what you as a human being can stand, what the rubber on the wheels can stand.

“That was never Porsche. Porsche was always [about] lap times, so it’s always the whole package when it comes to the handling on windy roads or on the track.”

Asked specifically whether an EV powertrain was locked in for the production Mission X, Mauer said: “That’s one option.

“Porsche from my point of view has never been really tied to one technical solution.

“I think Porsche always has a good understanding of using the best solution for the time in order to create the best car – if it was materials like magnesium … if it was hybrid technology.

“[For] The 918 that was as well the decision taken to have this performance, or if you take the new 911 GTS [T-Hybrid].

“So there’s a good understanding of what is the best solution for the time being and then we go for it. Porsche always took some time and thought about this solution.”

Apart from its powertrain, the other key question about the road-going Mission X is when it will become available.

Estimates have ranged anywhere between 2025 and 2027, but Mauer made it clear a new Porsche hypercar will not be released before the all-electric fourth-generation Cayenne SUV and fifth-generation Boxster and Cayman sports cars.

Both of those two new pure-electric model lines are expected to be revealed next year – hot on the heels of the upcoming Taycan sedan facelift and Macan EV, and before an all-new flagship electric SUV codenamed K1.

That will leave just the 911, the carryover Cayenne V8 and perhaps the limited-edition Mission X as the only three petrol-powered Porsche models available come 2030, when the company now says EVs “could” account for 80 per cent of its sales “depending on demand”.

“We have so many new products like the 718 due to come, the Macan just launched, the new Cayenne,” said Mauer.

“So this is the big challenge, that we have so many new car launches so far I think the hypercar or the super-sports car is something that will not happen in the near future.

“But sure there will be one. Whenever Porsche has shown such a car as a show car there was always and there is always … it’s not just doing it for the sake of having fun in the design department.

“It’s just a matter of timing.”