Porsche Mission S previews a new era of mid-engine supercars with a throwback to their past

Porsche has pulled the covers off the Mission S, a mid-engine supercar concept that offers a first look at the brand's future design direction and plans for a new model line sitting above the iconic 911.

Unveiled in New York, the Mission S isn’t merely a designer’s pipe dream of what a 918 replacement might look like. Porsche says it previews a permanent addition to its model range, built around an entirely new mid-engine supercar platform. 911 enthusiasts need not be concerned as the Mission S isn’t replacing the rear-engine cornerstone at all. Instead, it's positioned as a halo upmarket car for Porsche.

Dr Michael Leiters, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, said the Mission S provides a glimpse of the design features that will shape the brand's future models.

A throwback to Porsche's past.

At first glance, the Mission S is unmistakably a Porsche. Its low stance, pronounced fenders and distinctive roofline draw from some of the marque's most poster-car-worthy models, namely the 959 and GT1.

The front end takes cues from the GT1, while the roofline recalls the 959. Its rear design also features a car-in-car concept derived from the GT1, according to Porsche, alongside an integrated active rear wing. Though it does hark back a little bit to the 918 and 968…

Porsche has also worked plenty of functionality into the retro-fuelled design. Cooling elements take inspiration from the legendary Le Mans-dominating 917 of the groovy 70s. Even the wheels get a nod to the past, with a lightweight design based on the iconic 'dial' wheels of the 928.

Screen time limits.

Porsche has placed much more focus on driving engagement and has incorporated a driver’s-first approach to designing the cockpit.

The dashboard combines physical switches and buttons with digital displays, doing away with the increasingly common wall of TV-sized screens found in many modern cars. Five circular instruments sit behind the steering wheel, with an analogue rev counter taking centre stage. 

Interestingly, the instrument layout can change depending on the selected driving mode. The rev counter can also move closer to the driver, while the surrounding gauges rearrange themselves to suit the selected mode, much like the LFA from a decade and a half ago.

There is no permanently integrated central infotainment screen or dedicated passenger display either. Instead, Porsche has developed a retractable smartphone holder with MagSafe compatibility, allowing the driver's own phone to serve as a navigation or information display when needed. Digital detox much?

The cabin also features a redesigned Sport Chrono element, traditional Porsche-style ignition placement to the left of the steering wheel and new push-pull dashboard controls for quick access to driving and comfort functions.

In short, Porsche appears keen to bring back some of the physical interaction that made its older sports cars so analogue and appealing to the fine-tooth-combed individuals that geek out over what stitching your P-car has.

The last of the new-era Holy Trinity?

Crucially, the company says this will not be a limited-run hypercar or a one-off special. Instead, it is intended to become a permanent addition to Porsche's offering that wouldn’t need purchasing a million Macan EVs just to get into the orderbooks. While Porsche has not yet revealed production specifications, powertrain details or a launch timeline, the Mission S gives us an early indication of what the brand has in mind for its slightly uncertain future.

For now, the concept remains a vision of what is to come for the German marque. But if its proposed mid-engine platform makes production, Porsche could soon join the Ferrari F80 and McLaren W1 in a new era of the hallowed “Holy Trinity”, that being the Porsche 918, Ferrari LaFerrari and the McLaren P1 from the 2010s.

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